Smile for me
by Cells-girl
Summary: I'm thrown from my world into Gotham city. Brushing hands with the Joker and Batman to try and save the one person left who can save me. Broken by a sadistic drugged up mobster I try and find her. My sister is like smoke and mirrors. Can she be found before everything shatters? Crane/ScarecrowXOC, JokerxOC and a little BatmanxOC.
1. Chapter 1

Hello and welcome to my little universe in here. To all who think that this is me restarting all my stories, sorry I may never touch them again. To all who think that this will be pure comic/movie verse…wrong. This is from my own little reality and flames will be promptly deleted. I'll say this once and maybe every few chapters. If you don't like then go to another story. There are many out there just waiting to be read. I'm just putting my little slice of fan fiction out there for anyone interested to read.

I'll apologize in advance for any grammar or spelling issues, I was up all night with this story ripping at my brain trying to get out.

I don't care if you don't like it, this is my world. I'm not going to change it just because you don't like a character or if someone doesn't seem like they should. I could make the joker a cop wearing lipstick and the batman a talking pink rock…but I won't. I probably couldn't do a good Ledger joker if a gun was pointed to my head so I won't butcher that and try. To anyone offended then hit the back button and leave. Simple. Very easy to do. Anyone still reading then hey sit down and enjoy the show.

**Disclaimer: I do not own batman or the joker. I do not own Gotham city or any of its inhabitants except my characters Alex, Mae and Sara.**

I was dreaming of the dolls again. Their eyes slowly looked from one side of the room to the other in a slow jerking motion as if sand had rusted the gears inside. All of a sudden the eyes stop and stare just to the other side of the room and a soft keening sound slowly rises from their frozen painted mouths. It reminds me of the whine from a frightened dog whimpering in the dark.

I can't move to see what they see my body and eyes frozen; only staring at the dolls with their frozen eyes and frozen faces. Then they begin to cry, big fat red drops of crimson mortality slip from their gazes as the sound becomes louder and louder. It becomes almost deafening until I awake screaming. My eyes search the room in the darkness for some unseen boogeyman in the shadows.

I rush to the bathroom and grab the sink for dear life before running the cold water to try and slap the dream away. After a moment I turn on the light and covering the left side of my face look up. I stare blankly for a moment trying to remember that I'm awake and not still part of the dream. My golden-yellow eyes stare back at me looking tired and alone. My long red hair is a mess and full of knots and tangles. My pale skin seems paler almost sickly in the light. Once I recognize myself I lower my hand and stare at the marks on my left side. A long violent scar that begins at the corner of my mouth and winds its way up to just equal to my eye stares back at me. It glows red against the paleness of my skin, not quite the red of my hair but almost crayon red from its freshness.

I wish I could tell you that I did this to myself; slowly cutting up through muscle and skin only stopping when the blade slides from my grip from the slickness of the blood upon it…but I can't. I wish I could tell you that I stopped the bleeding and called for help…but I didn't. I could tell you that I didn't make a noise while it happened and never begged for my life…but I can't. The police should have been called to come save me and make everything better…but they weren't. The paramedics who stopped me from bleeding out and rushed me to the hospital to be fixed up by the doctors…they never came.

Instead my face had been carved up by someone I never once trusted. He poured vodka on my wound before leaving me screaming on the floor. A junky from the other side of the room ripped off his shirt and used it to stop my bleeding. I was quickly sewn up by a guy flying higher than a kite who sang the entire time he did it. I was then thrown onto the streets still bleeding and screaming in pain. Never once did I set foot inside a police station to be saved, never once did I call my uncle the cop for help.

After that night I hid, running from place to place in fear, only coming out when the infection set in. I was found by an off duty security guard who threw up before calling for help. After the paramedics came I passed out dreaming of the bleeding dolls eyes and screaming.

But then again I pull myself back to the mirror and the scar on my left side. I would never cover it up because I don't care what people think of it. I don't fear the scar. I don't hate it. The day I told anyone in law enforcement who did it will be the day my sister's life ends. I can't do that to her. But maybe if I tell you how I ended up with this mark, this slice of reality on my face, then you'll understand. It's how I ended up in Gotham chasing the smoke and mirrors that was my sister. How I need to save her before she is really truly gone.

/ 6 months ago \\\\\\\

Six weeks. My sister vanishes for six weeks and now she's in my living room begging me for help. She's back on the drugs, I could tell instantly but of which kind I'm not sure. Her 120 pound body is shaking and twitching softly as if electricity is running through her body. Her 5'3" frame seems hunched over with the weight of the world on her shoulders.

She looks like a walking skeleton to me; the bones in her hands seem to pop out at me when she moves them. I look to her face trying to catch a glimpse of the chubby cherub of my sister but see a gaunt face smothered with thick makeup. Her eyes are murky and clouded no longer shining with the light she once had. Her once dirty blonde hair was dyed a cheap pink and hung unevenly in choppy sections around her face. I can remember thinking 'where is my little sister and who is this stranger in front of me'. Then a small crooked smile crosses her face and I remember the girl she used to be.

A memory pops into my head of just a month before she disappeared. We were sitting on my couch watching reruns of _Looney Toons_. She was talking about which college she was going to attend in the fall. She was just out of a drug treatment center and had kicked her habit of pain killers, I was so proud of her.

Now she's standing before me twitching softly as her hands shake while she speaks. She needs my help to get into a new apartment. Not a slum lord's room but an apartment owned by a drug treatment center. She needs me to come with her for the meet and greet to show that she has family to support her. She wants to show the landlord that she has someone to keep her from shooting up in the bathroom or over dosing in the living room. She promises that all I will have to do is show up and take some pamphlets on the programs at the drug treatment center. And I would have to sign her into the programs and maybe take her to her first few sessions. She promised to get clean, she begged for help.

"Please you know I need help again." Mae began. Her twitching was slowing but her eyes continued to dart around the room into all the shadows as if searching for some unseen boogeyman. "Please help me. I've left Alex and I want to get clean, he can't find me there. I'll be safe."

"Mae, you've been with Alex the past two years. You eat, sleep and breathe this man. How do I know that you won't bring him back?" My eyes pleaded with hers and I took a deep breath. "If I do this, a big if, he has to be in your rear view for good this time. I mean it."

Mae took a shuddering breath and spoke those three little words that broke my heart and stripped me of my defenses. "Please save me." Tears fell from her eyes and her makeup ran down her face. She began whimpering like a frightened child after that. My fate was sealed. Two days later I made arrangements with the drug rehab center to pick us up and take us the six hours by plane that it would take. Then I packed my life into a small suitcase and travel bag. My home was left in the care of my policeman uncle as I left to fly my sister to the waiting arms of salvation.


	2. New Neighbors

Chapter 2:

New Neighbors

Disclaimer: I do not own the Batman, the Joker or any of Gotham's other friendly faces.

This story keeps slicing up my head trying to get out so forgive me if it seems rushed, I can't sleep unless I get it down on paper and it has been a few very sleepless nights. If anyone wants to be a beta for me and pre-read these before I post them to help me catch any of my insane spelling/grammar errors please send me a pm.

Talking

_Dreaming_

**Yelling**

I hate flying. Not that I've ever flown before it's just I have a little thing called vertigo that makes the world a very upsetting place. Especially if I do anything that requires a lot of movement at a very fast pace or heights. Thank god for Dramamine the wonder drug puts me right out so a six hour flight passes in just a flutter of the eyes. I just wish that it would take away the dreams.

_The eyes are watching me again, never blinking just the eternal staring. _My seat is shaking a little during some turbulence so I adjust my seatbelt and relax again. _The keening whine kicks up again as the eyes look behind me. Unfocused eyes just staring, frozen mouths whimpering at the sight before them. I hear voices all around me now unfocused blurring of sound neither male nor female. I look up at the eyes before me once again dripping the fat red drops of crimson unblinking in the light. This time I can move, this time I can see. Turning my head I see a flash of silver, a blade in the light. Its form is unfocused and shifting, just a silver shape winding around a hand. I look up to see its wielder and…_

"Sara wake up we're here." Mae stands before me her pink hair frizzing from the humidity in the plane. I'm taken aback as her face is blank, no makeup to hazily blur the definitions of her face. She looks older then her twenty years of life and her eyes hold dark rings from lack of real sleep. Her lips are held in a thin line the cracking dryness of them showing stark white against pale pink. She has a scar on her chin, I've never seen that before, and I wonder how she obtained it. Her nose is crooked, broken and set badly I think, making her seem tilted in the light. Where is the bright eyed little girl I grew up with?

"Do you have our bags?" I rub my eyes to try and ease the stark vision of my sister before me. Unbuckling myself from the seat I rise and stretch my legs before walking out of the plane. I can hear Mae behind me rustling papers inside her purse until she pulls a wrinkled pack of cigarettes out. Customs seems very lax here; none of the agents even look our way as we walk by them, almost as if there was no security at all. I hear a click and a sigh of relief. I look back and my sister is sucking down on the cigarette as if it were air itself. She exhales a large cloud of smoke before setting it between her lips to search through her purse again. I take a closer look at her purse and almost smile. She still has the 'my little pony' purse I bought her several years ago. It's been patched several times with duct tape and safety pins, even a few stitches here and there. The purse reminds me of her, broken but put together with whatever help she can find around her.

"Ah here it is." She pulled a newer flip phone from her purse and quickly dialed a number before crashing it against her ear. Her purse strap slid up around her shoulder so she could hold her cigarette between two fingers and blow smoke into the area around us. I wanted to walk away but my feet wouldn't move so I stood there the smell of smoke slowly seeping into my clothing and hair. "Hey Samantha! Yes it's little old me. I need a ride to the ark. No not that one, yes that one. I'm at the airport right now and need to leave a.s.a.p." Another drag on the cigarette and a flick of the ash onto the cement below. "Aww you're such a doll I'll see you later. Ta-Ta." The phone closed with a click and she dropped the cigarette to the ground, crushing it beneath her tennis shoe.

"We have a ride to your new place?" I watched her crush the paper and tobacco with a sick fascination as it ground down to a dark pulp under her shoe. "I was told that a Jon was going to pick us up. Wasn't he one of the counselor's for the drug rehab center your going to?"

"Just shut up for a second and let me catch my breath." Mae's eyes hardened as she looked me over almost as if she was seeing me for the first time. "You've talked to Jon? You talked to him and didn't tell me?" Her lips drew into a tight line once again and her hands softly twitched just once. I thought she was going to grab me but she just softly slid her arm over my shoulders and pulled me close. "Let's not fight. Please?" Her eyes were glazed over as if she were a million miles away. I wrapped my arm around her waist and grimaced as I felt her hip bones against my arm. She could be dying right against me right now and I wouldn't even know.

"We're not fighting Mae; I promise we're not fighting right now." She rested her head against my shoulder and mumbled something I couldn't quite pick up. We slowly stumbled to the revolving carousel for our bags. She held her bag without a word and we walked outside past the dirty glass of the automatic doors. "When is Samantha coming to get us?" Who would arrive first I wondered, Samantha or Jon?

"Samantha is in the area she should be here by now." Mae's voice was soft almost in a sing song tone. She seemed childish yet adult beyond her years. Was she on something even now? I never saw her take anything other then her cigarette, was it dipped in something? "Sis? Would you still love me if I died?" Her question snapped me to attention but before I could open my mouth to answer a horn honked in front of us. "Yay! Sam's here!" She pulled herself from my grip and launched herself at the white van before us.

"Hey Mae, where've you been hiding?" A taller woman jumped from the driver's seat and embraced my sister. She was at least 5'8 and had the body of a boxer. Thin lines with just enough muscle in the arms to seem dangerous. Her graying blonde hair was tied in a tight pony tail on the side of her head, it seemed off to me. Her face had small wrinkles in the corner of her eyes and lips showing just a bit of her age. Worn faded blue jeans led to a pair of scuffed combat boots with green laces. She wore a plain white shirt that held no stains that I could see.

"Sara this is Sam, she's my friend and the woman whose in charge for the woman's unit for the apartment complex." Mae snuggled up to this woman as if she were a stuffed animal. Sam led her to the passenger's side and buckled her in. Our bags were unceremoniously thrown into the back and I climbed in after them. There were no seats in the back just a cavernous expanse of stripped van. Metal jutted from the sides and I swear the floor was nothing but wooden two by fours. This seems safe.

"So how did you meet my sister?" Might as well try and not start off on the wrong foot with this woman. Pleasant chatter might lead her to tell me more about where my sister had been all this time.

"Mae you know the drill." She handed my sister an inhaler which she took without question. Samantha never looked back at me and began driving before I could get both doors shut. Our bags slammed into my side and legs as I quickly slammed the doors shut and fell upon them. I could hear her accelerating and the squeal of tires as she drove like a woman possessed for the next hour. This woman scared me, not once did she ever look in her mirrors and I swear she sped through at least two red lights. Thankfully I passed out during the ride thanks to a quick turn and my head hitting bare metal. No dreams, no dolls, no screaming.

"She'll be fine, just a mild concussion. The bleedings stopped and see she's even waking up." A male voice filled my head causing my eyes to open in curiosity. I could see my sisters pale form standing at the head of the couch. I was on a couch in a very bland apartment. At least I think I was in an apartment, right now all I could tell was that it was very white and hurt my eyes.

"You're sure there's no damage?" Mae was biting her lips and nervously bouncing from foot to foot. "She has to be perfect no broken anything." Suddenly a cigarette was between her lips as she fumbled with a small silver lighter.

"She's fine Mae. Just have her take a cold shower later to lessen the swelling." The man wouldn't look at me and quickly turned to leave the room. He was wearing a nice pair of dress slacks but his shirt seemed torn at every seam. His brown hair stood on end and I thought I saw a glint of metal and glass on his face. Whoever he was I was sure he wore glasses and was at least well educated.

"Sara I'm so glad you're awake." Mae fell to her knees in front of me blocking my view of the man. I could hear the door open and close as he left. Mystery man number one in my life thanks to Mae. "Samantha said you'd be ok but I had to make sure so I called a doctor. He's a good doctor ok so don't freak out." Pink hair in my face as she buried her head against my chest. "I was so scared you were bleeding and wouldn't wake up." Wetness against my skin, she was crying. How long was I out I wondered.

"How long was I out?" Might as well ask, might not like the answer.

"Two hours. I've already met with one of the counselors for the drug programs. She seemed nice but I really need you to sign the papers.

"You called a doctor to check on me?" I moved to sit up and lights exploded behind my eyes making me pause.

"Well not exactly. He lives down the hall near the pharmacy. I grabbed him as he was walking out the door. He's really cute isn't he?" She sat on her knees before me with a very mischievous smirk on her face. "Say he's cute won't you?"

"I never saw his face." I felt bandages on my head and slowly pulled my hands away seeing blood on my fingers.

"Well maybe you didn't, but he had a nice ass I know you saw that right?" Mae was pouting the cigarette back in her lips and slightly drooping to the left as she spoke.

"Sorry didn't see that either." I sat up fully and took a deep breath to try and clear my vision. The couch I was on seemed old and well worn. Burns dotted the armrests and some of the stuffing on one of the cushions was leaking out from a tear in the side. There was no carpeting just a nice wood floor under it.

"You suck." Mae stood up suddenly and rushed to the other side of the room and through a beaded curtain. "You're no fun you know that. I wanted to set you up to get you laid and you can't even take the time to stare at a guy's ass!" I heard something hit the wall and crash to the ground.

"Mae I have a concussion, I really can't see straight right now. I'll look at asses later I promise." I looked down at my shirt and saw blood down the front of my nice tweety bird tie dye. It would never wash out; the red got into the white and would make it forever pink no matter how much scrubbing I would do. I sighed heavily and stood up. Fewer lights this time, maybe I'm getting better. I didn't hear anymore crashing from the other room so I walked to the curtain. Well staggered is a better word for it. The beads sent slivers of pain down my spine as they brushed against my bandages.

"Promise to stare at guys asses with me later?" She was crying and her head pressed against the wall. Her neon pink hair was frizzing out around her like cotton candy. She looked like a broken doll sliding from her base onto the wall, soon to fall behind the dresser and be lost forever.

"I promise. Mae is this to be your apartment?" I looked at the bare walls of the bedroom. A full sized mattress lay bare upon the bedsprings. A closet with no door hanging empty save for a few wire hangers. A small dresser with a large round mirror hanging above it. The wood looked cheap and was painted a horrible shade of orange. No carpeting in here either just a seamless wooden floor under our feet.

"Yes this is my room. There's another on the other side of the kitchen if you want to stay." She looked up at me, tears falling down her cheeks slowly as if they were fighting the inevitable fall.

"I can't stay forever you know. Everyone has to go home sometime." She didn't like that and became angry again. Rushing to my side she grabbed my arm roughly before I felt a stabbing pain against my forearm. She burned me, but not on purpose I could see the cigarette smashed between her hand and my arm like a kind of broken insect.

"You will stay. You're my sister dammit. Stay with me!" She was hysterical. Her eyes were wild and her teeth were bared at me. "Never go home, never, never, never. You can't go home even if you wanted to. You're in his world now. His!" I could swear she was foaming at the mouth as she shook against me. "Don't let him take you, don't, don't go. You're my sister not his."

"Who are you talking about? Mae I have a home. Uncle Drew is watching it for me until I get back. I have bills to pay and jobs to find." The breath left my lungs as she smashed her face against my chest again, I could feel her crying and breathing heavily. Her nails dug into my skin and held on as if I would disappear at any moment. Any chance I had of leaving was put on the sidelines as she looked up at me with her big watery eyes.

"You said you'd save me." She sniffled and I heard a ripping sound as one of her hands grabbed my shirt and pulled. "You're my sister you're supposed to save me. Me! Only Me!"

"Mae stop it!" I was pushed out of her room and the beads bounced against my head making the lights dance and twinkle before my eyes. "I can't stay forever. Not unless I leave the lease on my apartment. All my things are there, my life is there." I pleaded with her. She never seemed to hear me. She pushed and pushed until I was in the kitchen staring at the tiled floor and listening to the hum of the refrigerator. "Mae listen…" She pushed me again and ran to her room, the beads clacking together before I heard the bed slam against the wall. She was in bed and refused to wake up to the reality of the situation. "I can't stay and save you forever." My words met only silence as I walked into the only door to my left finding another full sized bed before me. I collapsed upon it and curled into a ball. Maybe if I slept the world would fix itself. Just maybe.


	3. Leave a Message

Chapter 3

I slept like crap. There were no dreams thankfully but I awoke feeling like someone slapped me

around with a baseball bat. My head was aching and the bandages felt sticky and hard. My shirt

had somehow fused to my skin during the night and ripped me open as I pulled it off. My shoulder looked raw from rubbing on the bloody cloth all night. This was just peachy. I didn't bother to pull another shirt on and stumbled out of bed. I had kicked my shoes off during the night and they were on opposite ends of the room. My toe socks were still on and I pulled them up tighter. "I probably look like a horror show." I tried to smile and chuckle at myself and discovered that smiling hurt, alot. The digital clock on my nightstand was blinking 9 a.m Mae should have been up and around by now. Maybe. I stopped and listened for anything to tell me she was up. Hearing nothing I padded out past the evil beaded curtain of pain to her room. I knocked on her doorframe softly. "Hey you up?"

I was met with silence so I peeked inside and nearly fell through the curtain to the floor. Her room was a mess. It looked like someone had been murdered inside. The mirror above her dresser was shattered into a thousand pieces and some were stabbed into the wall at random points of her room. The bed was flipped over and ripped open, the springs thrown about the room. There were bloody hand prints in her closet and the wire racks were thrown about the floor amongst the slivers of broken glass. How did I not hear this going on? I wanted to look in her room but her things were gone. Everything of hers was gone her purse, her bags, her package of cigs. I needed a phone. Running to my room proved a challenge as the whole thing seemed to swivel and tilt wildly around me. I ripped my bags apart looking for my phone but it wasn't there, neither was my laptop or kindle. My wallet was gone too, I found my ID's and credit cards shoved into one of my sweaters. My money was gone but not my identity.

"There has to be a phone here somewhere, every apartment here is supposed to have one." I lurched towards the kitchen and checked everywhere even in the fridge. No phone. There were a few pamphlets on the table describing the various drug rehab treatments available. On one of the chairs I found the stack of papers I was supposed to sign for Mae. Reading them over I found that I was supposed to stay until her treatments were complete it was kind of a co-habitation therapy. But no phone. "I need a shirt and some drugs, really heavy drugs. Okay no drugs but clothing at least." I pushed aside the beaded curtain in my room and froze in horror. Lying upon my bed was a doll with unblinking eyes, bleeding teardrops upon the mattress. "No. No. This isn't real." I stood in the doorway gasping like a fish out of water when the keening whine started. The doll never moved, just stared right at me and whined like an injured puppy. I ran to the bed and grabbed the doll. It didn't move in my hand just instantly became silent. The eyes, the dolls eyes weren't staring at me anymore. They were focused just over my shoulder at some unseen body. I lifted the doll above my head to shatter it once and for all when a hand grabbed my arm and a warm body pressed up against my back. It was a man; I could smell his cologne, some strange mixture of perfume and anarchy. He bent down and pressed his lips to my ear softly. The doll shook in my hands, this dream had never happened before.

"So tell me doll face, are you scared? Does this make you want to just scream and beg for me to save you?" He laughed a loud shrill cackling as I was jerked back into the door frame. My vision clouded and I thrashed about trying to fight him off.

***Thunk***

I was on the floor, my feet still on the bed. I was gasping for air and my head was throbbing as if it would explode at any moment. Pulling myself off the bed and into a sitting position I noticed that I wasn't wearing my bloody shirt anymore. I was wearing a mans button up white dress shirt. "The hell?" Reaching up to my head I felt soft fresh bandages. I was seriously confused at this point and stood up looking at the mattress. There was no blood on it, no dolls bleeding tears, no strange man grabbing me. I had been dreaming. I must to have been dreaming. My legs were unsteady so I just yelled hoping she was home. "Mae?"

"She's not here." A male voice called back to me from the kitchen. I whipped my head towards the door and froze. There was a man here. I was wearing a mans shirt. My bandages were changed but I was wearing a mans shirt. Whoever this guy was had seen me topless. The pervert! I had no weapons on me so I staggered to the door and peeked through the beads to the kitchen. I saw a topless man sitting at the table reading the paper. He didn't seem like a rapist. He was calm and drinking coffee. My stomach rumbled coffee was my addiction. But should I walk out there and find out he was a rapist? I was so conflicted.

"Who are you?" Might as well find out the name of the guy. He set the paper down and stood up. The muscles in his back sliding against his softly tanned skin. His short brown hair was combed nicely and I saw a glint of metal and glass as he turned around. This must have been the guy Mae called 'the doctor' last night. Why would Mae leave me alone with the guy unless...the bitch was trying to get me laid. The nerve!

"You should take it easy, concussions aren't exactly in my job description. The names Crane by the way, Doctor Crane." He smiled and his icy blue eyes seemed to sparkle in the light.

"You're the Doctor Crane. The one who was supposed to pick up my sister and me last night?" I was confused why Mae didn't want him to pick us up and called that boxing lesbian to drive. He seemed harmless to me.

"Well yes but it seems Mae had other plans. She's not here by the way. Apparently she tried to sign you up under her name and identification." He stopped to gauge my expression for a moment. "Maybe you should sit down you look a little pale." He walked over and gently grabbed my arm and leading me to the couch. I sat down and shook for a moment out of blood loss or disappointment I wasn't sure.

"Where is May anyways? It seems you caught onto her little scheme before I got dragged under the bus." I looked up and suddenly my vision was engulfed in light. He was checking my eyes with a small pen light from his pocket. Blinding me in one eye, then the other while muttering to himself.

"You don't seem to have any lingering damage from your injury. I just managed to catch her in the halls early this morning she said she was taking her laundry to the wash. She had a very nicely dressed young man with her, tailored suit and well groomed. Didn't catch his name though. She left the door open so I checked to make sure you weren't being robbed. Found her things missing and you sleeping in your own blood, not really healthy." He frowned at me before sitting on the couch besides me, sliding the pen light back into his pocket.

"So she bailed with Alex. She promised me she was leaving him, this was supposed to be a place where she could hide from him and get her life straight." I looked up at the ceiling to try and stop peeking at his perfect chest or strong jaw. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes for a moment to try and absorb the fact that my sister once again led me on and dropped me into a situation that I couldn't get out of.

"Are you feeling dizzy? Do you need to lie down?" His hand was on my shoulder and I looked into his concerned eyes. There was something behind his eyes that I didn't like, it seemed off. Like a whole other person was glancing back at me and plotting, what I'm not sure.

"I'm fine, if Alex took her away I'm going to need to find a phone. I filed for a restraining order on him before Mae and I came here and he's obviously violated it." I quickly averted my eyes as Doctor Crane thrusted his hips forward to fish a phone from his pocket. He dialed a few numbers and handed me the phone.

"Use mine, I need to run to my apartment anyways. I'll be back soon." He left and I was quickly transferred to three different tired sounding policemen before one actually took my call and said he would be there to help me. I didn't want to be found looking like I raided the men's warehouse so I managed to hurry to my room and slip out of Crane's shirt. I put on a light blue t-shirt and adjusted it over my chest. My pocket vibrated and I pulled the phone out looking at the screen. The I.D was blinking **Always Answer **so I pushed the button and held the phone to my ear.

"Hello Doctor Cranes phone. May I take a message?" I felt like a guilty child found with their hands buried in the candy jar. I could hear breathing and a crashing noise from the background. I picked up his shirt while I waited and smelled it. It smelled expensive so I guiltily pulled it from my face and concentrated on the phone against my ear. "Hello?" I suddenly felt like I should have let this call go to voicemail. A mans muffled voice in the background called out that there was some chick on the phone and what he should do. I heard a gun shot and almost hung up the phone. This wasn't good, what had I just gotten myself into? I heard a rustling on the other end of the phone and then breathing.

"Well hello, hello there and who may I ask is having the privilege of answering the good doctors phone? Hmm?" The voice seemed to be joking with me and threatening at the same time. "Well don't leave me grasping at straws here!" A loud cackle filled my ear and I nearly dropped the phone.

"He's not here right now but I'm sure he'll return at any moment if you want to hold on the line or leave a message." Great, now I sounded like his secretary. Was Doctor Crane sleeping with his secretary?

"Oh now don't rush it. You sound awfully nice to talk to, no wonder the good doctor gave you his phone. You absolutely have the best bedroom voice around, sure to chase off any nasty nightmares hiding about." Another cackle on the line. "Any how be a doll and tell the good doctor to answer his own phone next time. Maybe it would save him the trouble of leaving me in suspense!" A loud burst of laughter filled my ears before the line went dead. I was confused, scared and actually a little turned on just from this guy's voice. What. The. Hell?

"Are you alright you look like you are about to faint." Crane was back and dressed in a nice powdered blue shirt and gray coat. He eyed his phone for a moment before his face seemed to fall a bit. "Did someone call?" He grabbed my arm and pulled the phone to his face checking his caller ID and paling. "Did you answer?" The look on my face said it all and he pulled the phone from my hand and stepped back as if I had bitten him. He sat down on the edge of the bed and nervously tapped at his phone. "What did he say?"

"Who?" I couldn't understand the emotions running through my head at the moment. Everything from fear to anger to attraction. So much had happened in the last few days I just wanted to shut down until my brain could sort things out.

"The man on the phone, what did he say?" His eyes had a hard edge to them now, as if the other entity behind them was breaking out. I suddenly remembered that I didn't know this man. I knew nothing about him. I had a strange doctor in my room that could do god knows what to me before the police arrived.

"He just said that your leaving him grasping at straws, and that I sounded like I could chase any nightmares away. Um, and to answer your own phone next time." The room was spinning I was sure of it now. I don't faint, I've never fainted. The good doctor saved me the experience by rising from the bed and punching me in the face, hard. I blacked out and drifted back into the soft white room of dolls. Always waiting, always staring, never alone.


	4. Wakey Wakey with Lemon Cakey

Chapter 4

Wakey wakey with Lemon Cakey.

_Dreaming_

**Action sounds**

Speaking

* * *

The white room blurred and spun around me. The dolls no longer whining but laughing at me, a soft chortle like broken glass tinkling against itself in the wind. I was pulled back into reality by a cold hand against my cheek. I lurched awake and had a firm hand quickly press against my shoulder pinning me to the floor.

"Miss please don't move. You've had a concussion in the past twenty four hours and your cheek has been busted open by blunt force trauma. Just relax. I'm here you are safe." I opened my eyes to see a middle aged worn policeman hovering over me. His black vinyl gloves seemed too big for his hands. One hand was pressed against my cheek to stop the slow clotted bleeding and the other was clinging to my shoulder. I looked up at him wondering what could have happened between my passing out and now. How long had it been? My eyes darted around the room searching for any clue, any shred of information to help me grasp my situation.

Mae was gone; she tried to get me trapped into a six month drug rehabilitation program. She left with Alex, the man who nearly killed her twice. Jonathan was gone literally knocking my lights out in the process. I was alone. I don't know anyone here. I can't leave without my sister. Alex will probably kill her this time. Where can I look? Where will I stay?

"Miss, miss I need you to look at me." The officer was concerned at my lack of reaction and leaned over me more. I looked up at him and blinked slowly. I noticed how exhausted he seemed. His eyes had dark bags under them, his eyes cloudy with lack of sleep. His brown hair was graying at his temples and he had the shadow of a beard across his face. He looked as if he hadn't slept or taken care of himself for days. "I have backup coming they'll be here in just a few moments. My partner has more medical training then I do. She'll be able to tell if you need to go to a hospital or not." He leaned back and let my shoulder go, still pressing hard against my wounded cheek.

"I think I'll be alright." The words felt heavy in my mouth. None of my teeth felt loose or missing and I counted my blessings there. My cheek was throbbing around the pressure from his hand. I jumped when his radio crackled to life with the sound of frantic static filled mumbling. His hand went to his gun belt and flipped the top of his holster open. Something was wrong and he needed his gun at the ready.

"I need you to think real hard now miss." His attention was fully on me again. "Do you recognize the name Jonathan Crane? Or Alex Maroni? Do they sound familiar at all?"

"Yes both. Alex Maroni is the man I have a restraining order against. He's beaten and harassed my sister multiple times. He just took her this morning I think, I called the police about it. And Jonathan Crane bandaged me up, watched over me then put his fist almost through my face." I told the cop everything that had happened since my arrival to the Ark. The cop's eyes hardened as he grabbed his radio relaying the information to his partner. He turned back to me and helped me sit up.

'You're one lucky gal then. There was just a turf war between the Scarecrow and Maroni's men. Half this building is filled with dead bodies and the other half is full of toxic nightmare gas."

"I don't understand who the Scarecrow is and what is nightmare gas?" I should have read up more on Gotham before allowing my sister to even come here. The cop looked surprised and shook his head.

"You're not from around here are you? You're one lucky soul to even be alive right now. I know you'll probably want to go looking for your sister but I very strongly urge you against that right now. Scarecrow…Crane didn't kill you even though it sounds like he's had multiple chances to do so. You can't leave the city and Commissioner Gordon will want you in protective custody."

"I know Alex will kill if he gets the chance but do you think Crane would too?" My face was really hurting and I needed to take my mind off it. My life was turned onto its ear and now I would have to hide just to try and make it through another day. But at least some things clicked, what I saw behind Crane's eyes must have been this Scarecrow persona. Alex probably sent his goons in trying to find me so he could use me against my sister. But then Scarecrow had goons too, and they were here fighting Alex's men. How long was I out?

"I'm honestly surprised your not dead or pumped full of nightmare gas right now. You seem to be the only person kept safe during the battle. Either Crane likes you or you have something that can be held over his head later. I wouldn't want to be in your shoes right now." He sighed and rubbed his forehead as if he had a headache. "I never did get your name Miss?"

"Sara just that for now. I never got your name either officer?"

"Officer Steve Fenroy at your service." He smiled then quickly pulled his hands away from me and pulled out his gun aiming it towards the door. "Police stand down or I will shoot!" His gun was shaking and he seemed almost caught off guard. His fear made me nervous and I scooted back against the bed.

"Steve put your gun down it's me." A short woman walked to the door with her hands up, her uniform had bloodstains covering her legs and some on her shoulder. "Steve we've got a problem with the gassed victims you're needed…now." She looked me over quickly then turned her attention back to the man in front of her. Steve stood and put his gun away before looking back at me.

"Ellen can you stay and watch over her, I'm sure the commissioner is going to want her as a priority status." He adjusted his radio on his shoulder and straightened his shirt.

"Sure Steve, just hurry they're in grid C." She stepped aside as he briskly strode off and I was left alone with 'Ellen'.

"Were you gassed or stabbed? Shot? Raped?" Her voice was firm and she kept her hand on her gun the whole time she studied me.

"Nope just punched. Officer Fenroy said that I needed to see…"

"Stay here, don't leave or the other officers will shoot you." She frowned quickly dismissing me and turned to leave.

"Wait you're leaving me here? No one to protect me?"

"You don't seem to be gassed or dying, stay put." Ellen turned her attention fully towards me then pointed at the ground. "I don't care if you've got information on Batman or the Joker or even some wannabe drug boss. You stay here and no one gets shot." She turned and left so quickly that the beaded curtain clicked together as the front door slammed shut. I was alone. My thoughts turned to confusion as I heard a vibration from the other side of the bed. Standing seemed too much of a hassle right now so I just crawled and found Crane's phone just lying there vibrating on the floor.

"Seriously?" I reached for it and stared at the caller I.D. The letters blinked against the lighted background as if taunting me. **Always Answer. Always Answer.** I almost let it go to voice mail but hit the answer button instead. The phone pressed to my ear I listened to see who was on the other line.

"Crane? Common straw boy don't leave me hanging." The voice sounded angry and his voice held a dangerous tone.

"Crane's not here." My voice was flat. I was in pain and didn't care anymore what I was thrown into. I had enough on my plate as it was and now I was stuck with this phone.

"Ah, the mystery woman returns!" His voice held a trace of brightness within the violence. "Where are my manners? How are you?" He giggled.

"Been better. In the last day or so I've gotten a concussion, had my sister stolen and been punched out by your 'straw boy' as you put it." My cheek was bleeding again and I looked around for something to press against it, something clean.

"Aww don't you sound miserable? No one likes to loose a bit of blood, myself included but it can't be helped. I take it Crane has abandoned you with his phone then?"

"As it would seem." I was suddenly off kilter, the room tilting slowly to the left. The bed hit the wall and I watched my bag slide across the floor leftward bound. "I might need to move soon. I don't think this apartment building survived Maroni's turf war with Crane." I was starting to slide to the left now and fear began chilling my spine.

"Oh a turf war now? Sounds fun; were you involved or just a helpless spectator?" Before I could respond I heard a flair of gunfire from both the phone and deeper in the building. "Whoopsies toots looks like I need to drop this call. Seems old Bats has found me quicker then expected. I'll look you up later, maybe set up a date." The line went dead and I heard another flair of gunfire outside my door.

"Yay I'm probably going to get shot now." I got to my feet and nearly ran into the wall with the degree of tilt in the room. My feet were unsteady as I grabbed my bag and made sure I had everything that I brought with me. I couldn't stay in this room anymore I needed to get out, find somewhere safe. I heard fighting right outside my door but the apartment held no windows for me to escape through. Sliding Crane's phone into my pocket I braced myself against the wall near the door. Peeking through the peep hole I didn't see anyone and stepped back. Collecting my nerves I flung open the door and peered out down both sides of the hallway. It was empty.

The building was falling over or down, I wasn't sure which. I continued to hear the explosions of gunfire from down the halls and tried to go in the opposite direction. I stopped at what I thought was Crane's apartment door. The one right next to the 'pharmacy', which was just a door with the word pharmacy stenciled on. I knocked and waited. No one answered and it wasn't locked.

"What the hell?" I sighed and opened the door. The lights were on and I could hear dishes sliding out of cabinets and breaking on the floor. I walked through his apartment finding nothing more then several expensive looking suits and some questionable DVD's lying around. Of course he wouldn't be stupid enough to come back here with the police shooting everyone.

"What are you doing in my apartment?" I whipped my head around and my jaw nearly dropped to the floor. He looked like hell and he was bleeding from his shoulder. Well his entire shirt was covered in blood but he was holding his shoulder. In his right hand he held what looked like a burlap sack tied together with rope. I could hear cans clanging around inside of it.

"You look like shit." I was bleeding, he was bleeding we might as well have thrown a party. His glasses were gone but he seemed to see fine without them. He staggered past me and threw his burlap sack into my arms.

"Drop that and we'll all die." He walked into his room and I could hear a thumping sound from his closet.

"Am I holding a bomb?" I should be freaking out right now. I should be feeling at least something more then exhaustion. I could be holding a bomb or a gun or even this 'nightmare' gas the police were talking about. Instead I was standing here holding this sack like a lunch pail. Waiting here like a wife waiting for her husband to get off the bus.

"Don't ask questions you don't want answers to." He walked out of his room with a duffel bag strapped around his good shoulder. Walking up to me he held out his hand. "Phone." That was it. There was no 'do you have my phone?' or 'please give me my phone back'. Just a demand and an empty hand.

"He called again." I pulled the phone from my pocket and handed it to him. His hand closed around mine and crushed the phone into my hand. Before the fury in his eyes could explode outward I cut him off. "He said that Bats found him quicker then he thought. Lots of gunfire on the other end. Nothing else for you." His grip relaxed and he pulled the phone from my hand and slid it into his pocket.

"We need to move then." He grabbed my arm and started pulling me after him.

"Wait 'we' need to move. Last I checked you knocked my ass out to get rid of me. Now we're a set?" I put my hand to my cheek still swollen and bleeding slightly from his last outburst.

"Do you want me to leave you here? Maroni's men are still scattered about. Do you want to be found by one of them?" He continued to pull me forward never once stopping to see if I wanted to leave. I let him lead me out of the building to the street. He stopped and closed his eyes for a moment pain shooting across his features.

"You need to be in a hospital." His shoulder was bleeding; I could see the fresh wetness on his shirt.

"You need to shut up and keep walking." He pulled me along again and we slipped into the alley across the street. I could see the flashing lights of the multiple police cruisers just out of reach but instead of calling out for help I let him lead me away. We walked for awhile until we reached a parking garage. He dropped my arm and pulled his phone from his pocket. "No talking. You say one word and I'll punch you out again and leave you."

"Whatever you say." I made a zipping motion with my finger against my lips which made him frown. He pressed a few buttons on his phone before pacing around searching the shadows around us. I couldn't hear the other side of his conversation but it seemed to upset him quite a bit.

"Hey it's me. Yea I got out. No I got my ass shot. Not my ass, my shoulder. Just shut up and put him on." He looked at his shoulder for a moment before trying to move it and wincing. His voice was strained for a moment. "He is? Shit. No don't bother coming to get me. If he's not there I'm not there. No. No. Yes. No. Tell him to call me once he's back." He cut his phone call and slipped the phone into his pocket. He punched the concrete barrier with his good arm and took a deep breath. Looking over at me I didn't see the soft eyes of Crane but the hardened eyes of the one they called Scarecrow. I could see a dramatic difference between the two right now.

"Come here." His hand extended and made a 'come hither' motion.

"You're not going to hit me again are you?" I stopped just out of reach and braced myself in case I needed to run…fast.

"I hit you before." Nothing behind his voice, just a statement of a fact.

"Yes." He stepped forward and grabbed my chin in his good hand. His face was inches from my in less then a heartbeat.

"You don't seem as scared as you should be. You should fear me." He turned my head so my bleeding cheek was inches from his lips. "Maybe you should fear me right now." A sharp dragging sensation started near my lips and slid up to my cut causing shards of pain to flash behind my eyes. He was licking my face, licking up my blood.

"What the hell are you doing?" I tried to pull away but he had a strong grip on my chin. He pulled my face close to his our lips a fraction of an inch from touching. His eyes gazed into my with such an intensity that I thought he could see into my very soul.

"Don't ask questions you don't want the answers to. Do you have a car?"

"No." I couldn't break away from his gaze.

"Do you know how to hot wire a car?" I could feel his warm breath on my lips.

"No." The burlap sack was scratching my arm up from the force I was holding it against me.

"Are you afraid?" His hand was trembling against my chin making my world seem to shake a bit around the corners.

"No." It came out as a whisper. If he let me go now I knew I would fall to the ground, my legs had given up on me for a moment. His gaze continued to continue to bore into my very soul before a sound wrenched him away. A soft fluttering of material, almost like a curtain in the breeze.

"Move. Now." He started to run pulling me along like a lost puppy. We ran through the parking garage until he found a small car and pressed me against the rear driver's side door. Within moments he had it open and shoved me inside all the way over to the passenger's seat. He shoved hard against my legs and my ass as if he could make me move any faster. I had just straightened myself into the seat when I saw a flash of light from under the steering wheel and the car came to life.

"Wow." Was all I could get out before he slammed his door shut and put the car in drive. The tires squealed as I was slammed back against the seat from the speed of his exit. He drove like a man possessed and didn't stop for a single red light. My vertigo was kicking up from the movement of the world around me. I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to calm my breathing. Something heavy fell on my thigh and looking down I saw his hand. He didn't look over at me but just rested his hand on my leg as if comforting me.

"Motion sickness?" He quickly took a turn causing me to hit my head against the side window. His grip on my thigh tightened as he sped through another red light, the car never going under 50.

"Yea." My mouth was watering now. Not a good sign. Next would come the disorientation then vomiting. So much vomiting. My eyes wrenched closed again and I tried to block out the world around me.

"Hold on." The car felt like it was sliding sideways and stopped suddenly with a crunch and shattering of glass. His hand kept me from sliding out of my seat as the world came to a stop and my head cleared. "Open your eyes and don't make a noise."

We were surrounded by warehouses. One of them was partially penetrated by the car we were in. Crane pulled me out of the broken mess of metal and glass and quickly pulled me down an endless stream of alleyways. The warehouses gave way to abandoned buildings of all sizes. A single story white house seemed to draw his attention. The windows were boarded up along with the door. A condemned sign hung on one of the porch support beams. Several condemned signs were plastered to the door. There was no fence surrounding the house so we quickly slid around to the back.

"Don't move." His voice was strained as he wrenched one of the boards loose from a back window. The window had been broken out and gave way to an empty black void. He slipped inside and disappeared with no noise. I was alone again. A dog barked from somewhere down the street making me jump. "Hey, hurry." An arm extended from the window beckoning me inside. Still holding the burlap bag and the cans within it I struggled up the side of the house and through the window. I wasn't as silent as he was and crashed to the floor making the whole house seem to echo.

"Oww." I was starting to think that my ass fell off when I was pulled to my feet. I was led down the hall to the last room on the left. A worn bed was on the floor with a small desk and portable lantern against the wall. Papers were thrown about the room some crushed into little balls others partially wrinkled. The burlap bag was pulled from my grasp as he walked to the desk and emptied its contents.

"You didn't break any of them open. I'm impressed." He began inspecting the cans with his back towards me.

"Are you Crane right now or Scarecrow?" I was leaning against the door frame calming my mind and stomach.

"Does it matter?" He didn't look up. The bag was lying on the desk looking more and more like a face as I stared.

"Just like to know who I should address that's all." Alone once again with him. The 'good' doctor that had bandaged me up, punched me out, and rescued me all over again.

"You fear me?" His gaze turned to me again. The icy blue of his eyes almost glowing in the soft light of the room. Dropping the can he was inspecting he walked over to me and grabbed the front of my shirt. "No not fear, I can tell the difference." Was he smelling me? His face came close to mine again and I was trapped in the frozen waters of his eyes.

"I'm just confused." And breathless. So very breathless.

"I'm just…" His lips were inches from mine. "Scarecrow." With that his lips painfully crushed to mine. My head smacked against the door frame making lights swirl and dance in and out of view. His hands went to my hips and mine to his hair as he continued to grind his lips against mine. I don't know why we were making out but at this moment I didn't care. My hand slid down to his shoulder and he flinched away. My hand was covered in his blood and he hissed at the contact with his wound. "Now you've done it." He ripped the duffel bag off his shoulder and wrenched my bag off mine. His eyes were wild and he eyed the canisters on his desk for a moment.

"No fear, you have no fear of me yet." He grabbed my hair and roughly kissed me again. I heard a ripping sound as my shirt split open in the front as he pulled me towards the bed. In one motion he had pulled my shirt off and tripped me onto the mattress below. His eyes seemed to be shining an unearthly light as he kneeled with one leg on either side of me. He stared for the longest time as he pulled his bloody shirt off. I could hear a wet squelching sound as it hit the floor next to us. He leaned forward and I could feel his blood dripping onto my exposed chest. "No fear." His lips were on mine again and I could feel him fumbling with his pants. He stopped and flipped me over and pulled my back against his chest his teeth on my neck as he fumbled with my pants next.

I was rolling as he flipped us around a few times kissing and biting as he pulled my jeans off and kicked his pants away. I couldn't breath he seemed to be sucking the life right out of my lungs as we kissed. Tearing burning pain down my sides as his nails raked my body. This man was wild and possessed caring not for his wounds or mine. More fumbling and my thong joined his boxers in a tangled heap just out of grabbing range.

My thoughts stopped as he slid down between my legs and robbed me of all rationality. Teeth and tongue robbed me of my breath, my thighs squeezing his head between them. Suddenly he stopped and pried my legs apart. I felt a shiver of fear prance down my spine as he looked up at me. His eyes blank yet intelligent. He crawled up my body like a possessed creature of the night. Pulling my hair back he raised my gaze to his own. Two words gracing his lips before he crashed them to mine. "No fear."

My lip broke open between his teeth and blood filled my mouth. He groaned and grabbed my hip tightly before thrusting inside. My back arched making him groan. The room filled with the sound of slapping flesh and animalistic groans. There was no softness here. I would bruise and he was bleeding. He bit me and I would bite back not caring if I drew blood. It had been so long since I had been with a man and no one had ever been like him. My world sparked and lights danced across my eyes as I came. My nails drawing lines of blood down his back. He growled, this man growled and pounded me within an inch of my life before his own release. We both panted and shook holding onto each other as if we would both fall apart if we let go.

"Don't ever fear me." His eyes drew my gaze again as I lay panting beneath him. I thought he was going to kiss me again but he just buried his face in my shoulder and wheezed for a moment. His body stilled and his breathing slowed. I slid him off of me and to the side. His arms pulling me against him pressing my face against his wounded shoulder. His blood oozed down my face and I didn't care. I couldn't move even if I wanted to. His body was warm and the room was cold. My eyes closed and the world faded away.


	5. In which we meet Alex

Chapter 5

In which we meet Alex

**Disclaimer: I don't own batman. I'm not sure if the song being sung is an actual song or not. I just kinda made it up on the fly. Enjoy.  
**

**Warning: this chapter is very dark.  
**

_Dreaming/Thinking_

**Action Sounds**

Speaking

* * *

I was cold; the heat that had held me all night was missing. I cracked my eyes open and looked around the room. It was empty. My bag was setting neatly against one side of the room and some clean clothes had been stacked on top of it. I crawled out of bed and poked at my blood covered body. I had bites and scratches over most of my body as if I had slept with a wild beast the night before; maybe I had. I needed a shower. The house was a mess except surprisingly for the bathroom, it was halfway decently clean. I climbed into the shower and turned on the water shivering under the cold spray.

After I was clean I turned off the water and stood there in the cavernous shower. The past few days events crashing against me, I cried and pounded against the side of the shower. I was cold and alone, I needed someone to hold me and tell me that I could do this, that I could keep going on. Slowly I dried and the whole time I couldn't take my mind off two things. My sister was missing; the man who stole me away was missing. I was supposed to be the quiet one, the sister who would cower in her room and shy away from life. I didn't know what to do. Somehow I had to find Mae and save her. I don't even know where I am right now. _One step at a time. Just breathe and take it one step at a time._

I slipped into my clean clothes and tugged at them as they clung to my still damp body. Everything hurt. My shoulders tugged in pain as I slid my backpack on and tightened the straps. My feet pinched in my shoes. One step at a time. I left through the broken window and walked to the street. One direction was warehouses another led towards downtown. I started walking towards downtown hoping that I didn't look as bad as I felt.

I'm sure my feet are bleeding. I could barely keep myself walking and keep my back straight at the same time. I had a few dollars in my pocket so I stopped in a small diner and gorged myself on pancakes and coffee. Six cups of coffee and two bathroom breaks later I was back on the street. I passed by homeless people and prostitutes as wandered deeper into the city. I had hoped to find a city map near the bus stops but the bins were all empty. I was just about to give up and find a bench to rest at when I froze. I saw a flash of pink hair dash into an alleyway across the street.

My feet refused to listen to me as they rushed me across the busy street and into the alley. I followed the flashes of pink hair until they disappeared into the gaping chasm of an open doorway. As I got closer I noticed that there wasn't even a door attached to the frame. Against my better judgment I stepped inside and was met by the smell of unwashed bodies and vomit. I knew exactly where I was. _This is a drug house. Maybe I can grab her while she's high and flee towards safety._ I pushed into the building checking room to room until I found her. She was sitting on a couch facing away from me, I would recognize that choppy haircut and pink cotton candy glow anywhere.

"Mae." My voice was strained and I took another step towards her. My bag slid off my shoulders and fell to the floor with a loud thunk.

"So glad you could join the party." The voice was deep and rich. It held both sarcasm and hate behind its words. Only one man had ever sent chills up my spine the way that this voice had.

"Alex." I turned around and came face to face with the barrel of a gun. He was dressed to kill in a blue suit and gray tie. His black hair was perfectly gelled back and his brown eyes stared at me as if I were nothing. The gun slid under my chin raising my gaze to the ceiling as he seemed to take me in.

"Say one more word and I'll put a bullet in Mae's head. Now I'm gonna give you proposition and you're going to listen like a good little girl." Not waiting for an answer he removed the gun and I lowered my gaze back to him. He was holding up a white unmarked inhaler. The gun was still pointed at me but lower this time, if I moved he would shoot me in the gut. "Now I wanted you unmarked but seeing you in this state makes me rethink my plans. Now this is a little drug I like to call Comet." He tilted the inhaler a bit and looked at it as if he were deep in thought. "Highly addictive, one shot if this and you will be hooked for life. Withdrawal symptoms are extremely painful, near fatal if left untreated. Now I'm giving you a choice, take the drug or let me leave with Mae."

"That's not much of a choice." My voice was flat and as soon as I spoke the gun was back against my chin. He slid the inhaler back into his pocket and forced me to step to the side of the room.

"Face the wall, you so much as look back at your sister and I'll kill her in front of you." He motioned behind him and two more men in suits appeared both carrying guns and looking out of place.

"Don't shoot her." I turned and pressed my face against the grimy wall. It smelled like sour cheese and I could almost feel the wall rotting against my nose. I heard people leaving the room and I couldn't turn around if I wanted to, the cold metal of the gun ground against the back of my head. I was so close to saving her but I jumped right into one of Alex's traps instead.

"Let her go!" Mae's voice sounded raw and slurred. I was whipped around and the gun was jammed up into my neck. I saw her struggling with the two armed men and I wanted to cry. She was dirty and had vomit down the front of her shirt.

"Oh don't worry Mae. I won't shoot her." He reached in his pocket and pulled out the inhaler, he tossed it to one of the men holding her. With one hand the man shoved it into her mouth and pushed a hit of the drug down her lungs. She gagged then became still. Her eyes glazed over and she sunk to the floor. A large drip of spit dribbled down the side of her mouth as her breathing slowed to a sleep like state.

"You fucker." I kicked Alex in the shin and was cracked across the chin with his gun.

"You jump so quickly to save your sister, let's see if she'll grace you with the same privilege." He kicked me to the floor then sat on my stomach, pinning me down and robbing me of my breath. He tossed his gun to one of his goons and was tossed a short blade. It was only a few inches long and reminded me of a box cutter. "No one will know that I did this either, if they do well lets just say your sister goes cold turkey." He grabbed my chin with one hand and wrenched my chin up. The blade was cold as he stroked my cheek with it.

I was screaming. He slid the blade into my mouth and wrenched it up slowly. The whole time I was facing Mae and she stared glassily back at me. I didn't even know if she could see me. I could hear every pop of muscle and tendon as it snapped. I could feel the tearing of my flesh as the blade continued to cut higher and higher. I thrashed under his body and tried to make him stop but he was stronger then I was. The blade was resting against my eye and he had a smirk on his face showing he was enjoying this. I was choking on my own blood and I was sure I was drenched in it as well.

"You ruined my suit bitch." He raised the knife as if to stab me but a keening sound stopped him. Mae was still on the floor watching but she was squeaking as if trying to scream. Her body twitched once then twice before stopping. "Oh it looks like she will save you after all." The knife was tossed back to the other goon and Alex shifted his weight on top of me. "Now I'm leaving with my property, have a drink and relax. This one's on me." I smelled alcohol before I felt a burning that seemed to split my face in two. I screamed so loud my ears were ringing, blood spraying everywhere as I thrashed against the pain. A sharp kick to my ribs robbed me of my breath and I stared up at the group with eyes glazed in fear. Alex picked up the prone form of my sister and carried her off, the two men forming a living wall behind him as they left.

_I'm going to die. No one knows I'm here and I can't save her now._ I wanted to cry but my body was becoming numb. I thought that I was fading off into the great beyond when something rough was slammed against my face. I screamed again, it came out a pathetic gurgle, and I peered up at the body above me. It was a man who looked more bones then flesh. He had needle marks almost everywhere on his body and his skin was red and raw. His dirty blonde hair was falling out in clumps and I could see patches of skin near his temples. He had pressed his shirt against my face to try and stop the bleeding but I thought it was a futile attempt. I needed a hospital but it was too late, I would bleed out before I even arrived.

"Mac! Mac help me!" The man's voice was low almost husky. He was pressing his hands against my jaw so hard I could see stars.

"And everyone will fall in love with you! Never again to be seen by the light of day, making love under a well lit moon!" A scrawny teenager limped into the room. He looked like he hadn't bathed in days. His blue eyes were glazed over probably high on god knows what and his short black hair stood in spikes on top of his head. He fell to his knees and looked at me as if I weren't really there.

"Mac fix her up, if we have another dead body in here they'll shut it down. I need my fix dammit!" The blonde hissed at the man and I could feel her hands tremble slightly. The man 'Mac' fell to his knees and pulled a small bundle from his pocket. He opened it and I saw a needle and some thread along with a few baggies of white powder.

"Now walk with me upon the beach, kick the foam and reach for the sky." He continued to sing as he threaded the needle. He forced the blonde's hands and shirt away from me and roughly grabbed the flesh of my jaw holding it together. "Life is so grand when you're in love. Speak those words with me and fly like a bird, ever giving up the light of the sun for the embrace of the moon." He stitched me up and the blonde held me down as I screamed again. I wanted to cry but my face was burning so badly I felt the tears dry even before they fell. It seemed like he sang for hours as the needle poked and threaded black string across my face. Once he was done he trimmed the string and leaned down to place a kiss on the stitched flesh. "And once I'm done you'll fall in love with me." He left as if this had never happened.

"Now get the fuck out and don't ever come back." My bag was shoved back on my shoulders and I was dragged back out to the street. I was so cold. My jaw felt broken and my left eye was swelling shut. I didn't know where I was going but I ran there anyways. Just before dark I ran into a bench and looked around, I was surrounded by trees and grass. A sign nearby read 'Gotham City Memorial Park'. I followed the path until the trees became thicker. I then left the path and found a secluded spot near a thick tangle of trees and bushes before I collapsed.

I don't know how I was still alive or even how long ago my run in with Alex was. I was burning up and shaking with chills. My hand went to my face and I felt something ooze out of my stitches. I pulled my hand away and it was coated with blood and slime. I was dying, I had to be.

"Margaret I'll be home soon, I'm just finishing my jog through the park." The voice was getting closer and I needed help. I crawled to my feet and staggered towards the voice. My backpack was so heavy I couldn't breathe. "Love you too baby. Bye." I could barely see and I collapsed onto the path in front of the man. He fell to his knees and flipped me over. "Hey are you okay?" His voice stopped as he saw my face. He turned green and quickly turned away as he threw up for what seemed like hours. I thought he was an officer; he was dressed as one but had no gun. After he finished dry heaving he flipped out his phone and started screaming at someone on the other side. I was so cold and tired. He slammed his phone closed and picked me up. I felt like I was moving a million miles an hour. All too soon I saw flashes of red and blue and had my bag ripped from me. I was placed on a soft bed and just before my eyes closed I saw the looks of horror on my savior's faces.

_The dolls were back and they were screaming. This time they had pink hair and my sister's eyes. They stared glassily at me and their mouths hung agape dripping saliva and blood. Each doll looked like my sister and I wanted to reach out for them. My hand rose to grab one of them but something warm grabbed my wrist and pulled it back down. I tried to struggle but a warm pair of lips pressed against my ear stopping me. "Doll face it isn't time. Now wake up."_

I could hear parts of conversations. I didn't know if the voices were male or female or even if they were from the same day. I kept my eyes closed and listened as I faded in and out of consciousness.

"…not Joker's work."

"…sure?"

"…miss….found her ID….horrible."

"…poor thing…broken…."

"…did the best we could….never want her…."

"…you awake?"

My eyes opened and I was staring at darkness. The whole room was dark, I was able to turn my head and I could see I was in the hospital. It was dark as well. There was a soft beeping coming from a machine to my right but I couldn't turn that way to face it. My face felt so heavy on the left that I kept it pressed to the pillow. I must have been drugged heavily because I couldn't feel any pain. I blinked slowly but the lights hadn't come back on yet. A dark shape appeared out of the side of my vision and slowly pulled my face to the right. It looked like I was facing a giant bat. My eyes blurred and my mouth opened and closed as if I had tried to speak.

"Do you know where you are?" The voice was masculine low almost growling yet kind. I managed to raise my hand to his and felt some kind of armor plating on his hand. He grabbed my hand and let my face go. I squeezed his softly and my mouth tried to work once again.

"Hos…" My mouth managed to wheeze out before it locked shut. I could hear the beeps from the machine speed up as a tightness grabbed my face.

"It's alright. You're safe. You're the girl from the apartment. The one in the turf war between Scarecrow and Maroni's men." I couldn't see his face but my hand squeezed his again. "I followed your trail back to the place where this happened. It went cold. Why didn't you call for help?" I cried, the tears burning my eyes like the vodka in my wound.

"Hey did you find anything out?" A soft man's voice appeared in the doorway. He sounded older yet kind.

"Not yet Jim. Stay with her, I'm going to pay a visit to someone who might be able to help." He pulled his hand away and I heard the soft fluttering of cloth, almost like a curtain in the wind.

"Don't worry, Batman's on the case." A warm hand slid into my own and I squeezed it. "We'll find your sister and the people responsible for this. The doctors did what they could for you but you can't stay here much longer. We don't think it's safe. Do you have anywhere to stay?"

"Nnnnnn…." I tried to speak again and turned my head to the left to see him. I could make out glasses and a mustache. He smelled like coffee and baby powder. My hand shook in his.

"We'll find you a safe place to stay Sara. Just hold on and we'll try to save you." His voice was so kind that I wanted to believe him. But how could I be safe when my sister wasn't?


	6. Flying with the Crow

Chapter 6

Flying with the Crow

_Thinking/Dreaming_

**Action Sounds**

Speaking

* * *

Jim had left. He was needed at the precinct and I was alone in the hospital bed with tubes coming out of me like crazy straws. I was hooked up to at least six different IV bags and they slowly dripped their cocktail into my veins. They were slowly weaning me off the morphine and I was glad I wasn't showing any signs of addiction. I was so hungry and thirsty but there was no way I could handle eating right now. I had over a hundred and twenty two stitches in my face. Each one pulled and tugged at my flesh when I tried to lick my lips or swallow ice chips. I couldn't get Mae's face out of my mind, her glassy expression and boneless body. I kept seeing her staring back at me as Alex carried her away, pleading to be saved. Why would she lead me into that trap in the first place? Why didn't she call for help? I was pulled from my thoughts from a soft tapping at my door.

"Hey you're up." There was a man in a nice black suit standing there holding a stuffed teddy bear and a dozen roses. He had a lopsided smile and his hair was perfectly groomed. He walked into the room and set the flowers and teddy on a table next to me. He acted like we had known each other awhile.

"Who?" I had to stop. I could speak small words but they pulled at my wounds like glass. The man pulled up a chair and sat next to me, was he one of Alex's men?

"You don't remember me do you? I'm Bruce Wayne." He offered me his hand and I cautiously shook it. It was warm and rough as if he'd labored all his life. After a moment he lowered my hand to the bed and didn't let go. "I was here when they brought you in; I sat with you when you came out of surgery."

"Why?" I could taste traces of blood in my mouth and the bandage against my face felt damp. He didn't seem to notice but looked me over as if he were trying to gauge my injuries.

"Well when Batman tells you to sit with someone you usually do it." He smiled again and rubbed his thumb against the back of my hand. "I'm glad I did it though, I've never met a woman who could have survived as much as what you've been through. I'm impressed."

"Mr. Wayne stop hitting on the patients!" A blonde haired nurse in a too tight uniform waltzed in clutching a metal chart to her chest. "This girl needs rest and you're in here playing twenty questions." She ushered him out of my room and came back in to check on my bandages. She ripped the bandage off my face with enough force to make it hurt. "A word of advice you little freak. Girls with yellow eyes and scars aren't meant to be affiliated with billionaires." She gave my wound a quick flick then was gone leaving me in pain.

The next two weeks went by in a blur as I healed and was discharged from the hospital. Bruce stopped by a few times and I tried to be nice to him but the nurse's words kept haunting me. After I was discharged Jim, who I found out was commissioner of the police force, found me a small house on the outside of the city to stay in. He said that it was safe and there would be police driving by from time to time to make sure I was alright. I really wasn't. I had lost over three months of time because of this injury and who knew what had happened to my sister by now.

I wasn't able to sleep for days on end and when I did I would be haunted by nightmares of the dolls that eerily looked like her. I tried to drown out the pain by keeping myself busy but I could never seem to run away from my own mind.

_The couch was no longer comfortable. It seemed to be breathing under me. I flung myself off of it and looked around me. I was back in that drug house. My face felt like it was ripping in two and I pressed my hand against my cheek, blood flowed freely over my fingers. There was so much blood. I staggered from room to room trying to find Mae. She was in the last room. I found her on the floor glassy eyed and bleeding from her mouth. She was dead, I hadn't saved her in time and she was gone. A low hiss emitted from her body as a white smoke rose from her mouth. The room started filling with the smoke and I turned to flee. The doorway was full of dolls, a living wall of dolls with unblinking eyes. Each one had pink hair and glassy blank eyes. Blood and saliva flowed from their mouths in large clumps as they stood silently screaming. I pulled my hand from my face not caring how much I was bleeding and I tried to claw through the dolls to escape. The smoke coming from my sisters body was Comet. It flowed across the floor and grabbed me by my feet. I screamed as my flesh began to melt. The more the smoke embraced me the more my body melted and writhed on the floor. I had no one to save me. I thrashed and screamed before I heard the smashing of porcelain and something picked me up. My eyes rose to a familiar face. _

_"Jonathan?" I had stopped melting and seemed to be reforming as he carried me out of that room and away from my sisters body.  
_

_"Scarecrow will always save you. Let him in your head and we'll both protect you." He spoke without moving his lips and the drug house started to fade from view, along with his body.  
_

_"How?" I was now standing facing him, he pulled me close and whispered in my ear.  
_

_"Let us in, take us all in." He was gone. I was in the white room but I wasn't alone, Mae's broken body was back. I stared down at her gaping mouth and glassy eyes before screaming.  
_

__I always woke up screaming or crying. I had slept through lunch and dinner was fast approaching. I needed to take my mind off the confusing dream. I needed to keep my hands busy so I crawled off the couch and into the kitchen. I would make potatoes, that sounded good. I peeled them and washed them off trying to push my thoughts away. I grabbed a knife and violently started chopping them up as if that would drive away my pain. I stopped chopping the potatoes and stabbed the knife deep into the wooden cutting board in front of me. I couldn't take it anymore. I needed to do something, anything to find a way to save her. A knocking on my back door pulled my hand away from the blade and I swung the door open without bothering to look who it was. There wasn't anyone there; a soft clanging sound from my doorknob drew my attention. There was a plastic bag hanging off doorknob with a slip of paper stapled to it. I brought it inside and ripped the bag open. There was a cell phone and a small container that looked like pepper spray inside. I opened the paper and couldn't believe what I was reading.

-S

Finally found you. I'll call later; find something to cover your face before you use the gas. Take out any cops that stop by tonight and I'll come get you.

-Crow

I folded up the paper and looked at the canister. What was this stuff? I wasn't about to test it out so I shoved it into the pocket of my jeans and picked up the cell phone. There were only a few contacts inside. They were confusing as they were only one letter contacts. J. C. R. Who were the three people? I shoved the cell phone into my back pocket and finished making my dinner. It still hurt to eat but I needed my strength. After dinner I found a bandana in one of my drawers and carried it around with me. I felt paranoid but wasn't about to risk another trap from Alex. Around six my phone rang and I checked the caller ID. C. was calling. I flipped open the phone and cautiously held it to my ear.

"Hello?" My tongue flicked across my scarring flesh as I spoke.

"We finally found you." I knew that voice. All at once anger flashed through me, if he hadn't have left maybe I wouldn't be maimed like I was. I was throwing around a lot of anger lately and it was his turn to take some.

"Jonathan." My voice was flat and I couldn't stop licking the corner of my mouth feeling the scar tissue. I needed something to remind me of what I was trying to save.

"We're coming to get you."

"You left me remember. Why come back for me now?" I didn't know if I wanted to be around him right now.

"We always come back for what's ours. Did you get the package?"

"Obviously." I was talking to him on his cell phone.

"I meant the canister of the gas."

"Yes I have it."

"Spray any cops that come by tonight, but don't spray yourself. I'll be there in an hour, be ready. Pack anything you'll need for an extended stay."

"Fine I'll pack but you'd better be able to explain everything." I hung up on him and nearly threw the phone against the wall. I pulled my backpack out of the closet and started shoving clothing and essentials into it. I slipped into a pair of comfortable shoes and tied my hair up. I stopped by the mirror hanging on my bedroom wall and just stared for a moment. The stitches had come out but it was still crayon red against my pale flesh. My eyes seemed haunted and I felt more alone then ever. I felt like a failure and for all I knew Mae was dying somewhere because I was too weak to save her. I started crying and the tears seemed to follow the scar down my face almost as if they were taunting me. My doorbell rang and I rubbed my eyes before walking out to answer it. I peeked through the peephole and saw a plainclothes police officer staring at me. Well I was staring at his badge so I let him in. I instantly regretted it, he didn't seem right.

"Evening miss. Just stopping by to make sure you're doing alright." His eyes were everywhere but my face. All the officers that Jim had sent always looked at my face at least once. I dabbed my brow with the bandana and took a step back.

"I wasn't aware that Jim was having anyone stop by, he usually calls." My hand was in my pocket fingering the canister.

"He was busy." Now he was looking at me and something flashed across his face before he could stop it. I was used to the looks of disgust and pity but not the look of a predator waiting to pounce. He seemed all too close.

"I think you should wait outside. I'm going to call Jim." I pointed to the door and clung to the bandana so tightly that my knuckles were white. He took a step towards me and I pulled the canister from my pocket and pointed it at him. "I said get the fuck out now!"

"Put that away before you hurt yourself bitch." He pulled a gun from his pocket. I crushed the bandana against my face and squeezed the canister and a spray of white powder shot out and covered his face. He brushed it away before blinking rapidly and stepping back. His eyes were so dilated I couldn't see anything but the blackness in them. He dropped his gun and began clawing at his arms and screaming.

"Get them off! Get them the fuck off!" He was clawing so hard that he drew blood but didn't stop. He began running around clawing wildly at any point of exposed flesh on his body. I kept the bandana smashed against my face as I grabbed my backpack and strapped it on before bolting out the front door and slamming it behind me. I still had the canister in my hand and I raised it at a figure that appeared out of the darkness.

"It's good only for a few shots don't waste it." It was Jonathan. He stepped forward and pushed my hand down. I let him pull the canister from my hand and slip it into my pocket. I wasn't ready for the expression on his face when he pulled the bandana away. I tried to look away but he grabbed my chin and roughly pulled my gaze back to his. I felt his nails dig into my flesh almost to the point of drawing blood as he pulled my lips to his. I pulled away confused, he didn't care that I was a freak now?

"You don't think I'm a freak?" His eyes had darkened and I knew I was staring at Scarecrow. The changing of his gaze was all that I could notice to tell me the switch had happened.

"No one touches what's mine." He leaned forward and ran his tongue over my scar. I closed my eyes and wondered what the hell I had gotten into with this man. I slept with him once and now he thought I belonged to him.

"How am I yours? I know you patched me up and that night in that house…" I trailed off.

"You were mine the first moment I heard you on the phone." He was pulling me away from the house. Down the street I saw a beat up white van idling with its lights off. The back door slid open and he pulled us both inside. There were only two other men inside the van, the driver and a guy who shut the door behind us. They were both wearing what looked like clown makeup and I was so confused I could feel a headache coming on.

"You decided that from just a phone call?" I looked away from the men and into his eyes. He pulled me onto his lap and gave a steely look to the other men.

"After I heard you on the phone I wanted to meet you. When Mae brought you in injured I knew that you were mine. Your blood was on our hands and we couldn't stand it. After she left I was going to lock you up in my apartment but Maroni's men decided to bomb the place. I was going to let you go that night, but you didn't fear me." He pulled me against his chest as the driver slammed on the gas and sped off into the darkness.

"Do many women fear you?" I had a headache and my tongue slid across the scar tissue on the inside of my cheek. The other goon was leering at me I couldn't tell from lust or disgust.

"Everyone fears me. They should." His chin was on the top of my head and I couldn't remember the last time that any man had held me like this.

"Is that why you left? Because I didn't fear you?" His heart was beating slowly and it calmed me down. I pressed my ear against his chest and was almost lulled asleep from the steady beat.

"We were conflicted. The bullet did more damage then we thought. If Batman had found us there would have been no way to save you. Crane made the decision to get patched up and make a false trail. By the time we got back you were gone. He thought that you'd been taken."

"But you didn't look for me?"

"We did, we didn't find you until you were already in the hospital. The Batman was in your room almost every night. We couldn't risk taking you and running into him." He slid a hand to my face and softly traced the scar. "We had to make a plan."

"You trusted me with your nightmare gas?" I didn't want to think about my time in the hospital, the tests they ran and all the needles they poked me with.

"You're trusted with a lot more then you think. Once we get where we're going I'll tell you more." He was stroking my neck now his fingers were warm on my chilled skin.

"Where are we going?" I wanted to kick the goon in the face; he wouldn't stop staring at my scar. I felt better being around someone I at least partially knew but I didn't want to end up abandoned again. I couldn't help Mae if I ended up dead.

"We're stopping by Jokers. You've talked to him before. He won't give me what I need until he meets you. He touches you and I'll shoot him in the face." His voice was flat as if he were seething with anger. My face was shoved into his chest and I heard a canister discharge before the goon who had been staring at me was screaming on the floor of the van. Jonathan cracked a window and let the space air out before letting me pull away.

"Any reason you did that?" I tried to slide off his lap but he held me tight. All my struggling was turning him on and it was getting uncomfortable to be on his lap.

"My new batch of fear toxin. I needed to test it out, he seemed like he needed it. Leering at what's mine." We sat in near silence, the goon wouldn't stop screaming, until the van stopped and the door on the side opened up. Jonathan pushed me out of the van first then followed me out. We were back in the warehouse district. His hand was fisted into the fabric of my shirt between my shoulder blades. There were more painted goons standing around and many of them were armed. I really didn't want to go wandering off by myself. I tried not to make any eye contact and soon we were inside and sitting in a small grouping of couches. Jonathan pulled me across his lap and linked his arms around me. I rested my face against his shoulder, the whole world getting a good view of my scar in the process.

"Ah lookie here! A little crow had brought me something shiny!" I remembered that voice. The humor laced with something darker. A man plopped into the couch across from us and stared intently at me. This was the mystery phone man? He had green hair and painted skin, a giant grin was painted over the scars on his face. His purple suit looked worn but well taken care of. He had red eyes. His red eyes met my yellow and he leaned forward as if he found something very interesting. "Ah look at this. So the mystery woman finally shows her face. I think we need to renegotiate the terms of our deal Crow. I want this one for my own." He grinned big showing yellowed teeth. He wore purple gloves on his hands and they ran through his green hair as he licked his lips at me.

"She's non negotiable." I could barely breathe as Jonathan squeezed me to him as if he could hide me inside one of his pockets.

"Oh that's too bad Johnnie my boy, you see when I want something I take it. By force if necessary." He licked his lips and flashed a giant smile again making me shiver. "And besides she could use a real man don't you think. Someone to keep her warm at night and not let her wander." He shot a look that let me know that he knew exactly what had happened to me.

"I'll kill you before I let you take her from us clown." Scarecrow was seething and I could hear him in every pitch of Jonathan's voice. There was no doubt that he was in charge and would do whatever he thought was necessary.

"Then let the games begin." Joker smiled and reclined on the couch with his arms behind his head. He looked like he had already won.


	7. Dance with the Devil

Chapter 7

Dance with the Devil

_Thinking/Dreaming_

**Action Sounds**

Speaking

Disclaimer: I own nothing

* * *

The silence was so loud my ears were ringing. This man, this Joker sat there looking as if he was the cat that swallowed the canary. Everything about him seemed off and I didn't like the way he continued eying me up like candy. We were at a stalemate, neither of us moved. Neither of us spoke, neither of us was giving up.

"This one is mine Joker." Scarecrow was squeezing the life out of me. I felt bruised and my ribs creaked in protest of his grip. I wanted to breathe but I didn't want to get any closer to…him. My scar ached and my tongue itched to rub it but I didn't dare take that chance in front of this Joker.

"Oh you've yet to prove that to me straw boy. You come into my home," He motioned to the warehouse around us as if he were showing off something from Better homes and Gardens. "And you bring that candy to me and I'm not supposed to take a bite?" He lifted an eyebrow and sat forward as if to pounce.

"If it were up to me she would have never heard your voice, she wouldn't be in this." Crow was digging his nails into my hip and I could feel the tension rolling off his body in waves. His face remained calm and stoic but his eyes were deep pools of icy water, so deep that any man should have fear to tread in them. I wanted to speak, to stand up for myself but I felt lost between the gazes of two titans. My throat constricted killing any words that dared to form, I would need to walk this thin ice carefully or be lost in the waters of what lie beneath.

"Well that's too bad Johnnie boy. She's in deep, practically drowning." He adjusted his gloves flexing his fingers beneath the leather. "You see, she's been such a naughty little thing. Taking on the mob, Maroni to be specific." His grin grew as he interlaced his fingers and leaned forward again. "That's a big player in this little town. Most of the police are in his pocket, any number of horrible things could befall such a broken toy."

"She is not broken. She has protection, she has me." Jonathan was back, I could almost feel the shift as his arms loosened enough to let me breathe again. Crow's fury must not have been enough for the situation we were in. I could feel something tugging at the back of my mind, almost like a dream while sleeping but I brushed it away. I couldn't afford to sleep now; one should never sleep while staring down a shark.

"Oh and what wonderful protection that's been. You see, you'll get what you needed straw boy. And I'll get what I want. I don't think I see any problems with this do you?" He reclined a bit and his jacket opened just enough to show the gun strapped to his side. My blood froze, I hated guns. I didn't remember Jonathan having anything but his gas, would it be enough to get us both out?

"So that's how you're going to play it?" His voice was hallow. It sent a chill down my spine making me feel like I was about to be abandoned all over again.

"Well, yea. Now pack it up and fly away little crow. I've got a lot to do and such a finite amount of time to play with." He made a shooing motion with one of his hands and his grin seemed to gape at me like the open jaws of a wolf. I felt myself being pushed off onto the couch and the cool fabric burned at my skin.

"This isn't over Joker." He leaned over and pressed a kiss to the side of my head, his voice was nearly silent with his plea. "I will come back for you." His eyes never left Joker's gun as he stood and was led away by more goons in makeup. My heart was hammering in my chest and I could feel myself shaking from the force of it. I watched him leave, he never once looked back. I lowered my eyes hiding the burning tears until I could force them to stop.

"Oh don't cry little red. You'll be right at home in no time." He was standing and walked over to my side. His hand was held out to me and I took it, I didn't have a choice anyways. The leather was warm from his hands and soft as if it had been worn for quite awhile. He pulled me under his shoulder and wrapped his arm around me as we walked deeper into the warehouse. He was humming something under his breath and his fingers tapped at my side in a soft cadence. He led me to a small room in the back and led me inside.

"Now this is where you'll be staying. Try not to wander; we've both seen what happens when you do." He chuckled and traced my scar with his fingers before walking away. He paused with his hand on the doorknob and turned his head slightly back towards me. "I'll be back for you soon, get some sleep. You'll need it." He laughed shrill and loud and the door did almost nothing to muffle it as he slammed it closed. The soft click of a lock told me that I wasn't escaping. I fell to my knees and sat there in the unfamiliar room. My mind wandered and soon I was thinking of my sister, was she alone too? Was she being fed that drug and paraded around like a trophy? Was she still alive? This time I didn't hide the tears, I let them fall as silent screams tore at my throat. I was so close to being free, I could have saved her. I sat there and sobbed felling helpless for what seemed like hours. My eyes burned and felt bruised my throat raw from holding back the screams and sobs. My heart felt like it was being ripped in half from the extent of my pain. I was the older sister; I was supposed to protect her. How can I do that when I couldn't even protect myself? I curled up into a ball under the bed; I didn't trust sleeping in the open. Each blink of my eyes seemed to take longer and longer until they closed and I let the sleep take me.

_I was back in the hospital, the tubes and wires stringing out of my body like strings on a puppet. The only noise I heard came from the machine beeping softly to my right. I could feel the stitches back in my flesh and my tongue flicked over each one it could. The pain returned and I welcomed it. Soon I could hear footsteps coming down the hall and I turned my head to watch the person walk by. Mae. She looked like she did back before all the drugs, before Alex. She walked into the room and stood by my bed just staring at me. Her shoulder length dirty blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail; her green eyes were glowing softly as bright as I'd ever seen them. She smiled and I could see the sheen of lip gloss on her lips. I tried to reach out for her but my arms were restrained, tears burned my eyes. This was my sister; this was the woman I wanted to save. The woman I needed to return my sister to. She leaned down over me and pressed her lips to my ear._

"_I'm still alive you know, but you left me all alone in this cold darkness." She bit my ear and her teeth felt sharp and cold. She pulled away and I saw that her teeth were all now sharpened and dark. Her eyes were dilated and empty like two pits trying to pull me in. She grabbed the IV's from my arm and ripped them out, my blood flowing freely out of my body and into the fabric. "You failed, why should you still live if you can't even save me?" She laughed and it was a horrid heckling sound, like a hyena feasting on a kill. "Die fast big sister." _

"_Mae no!" I tried to reach for her again as she laughed and walked out. "I'll save you." My voice was weak and there was so much blood. The bed was soaked and I thrashed against my bindings trying to free myself. I needed to grab her, to remind her that I wouldn't leave her to die. I wanted to shake her until she was herself again. The machine to my right was beeping at a frantic pace and it nearly deafened me. My skin cracked and I looked down at it. I could see my flesh being replaced by porcelain; it was cracking from the force of my struggles. I tried to break free but the cold shell rose higher and higher on my body. I was becoming a doll; I would stare forever at nothing and bleed. My eyes would drip the red mortality of death as I lived forever in a silent repose. I could almost feel my tears thickening threatening to glue my eyes shut as they became red and dripped down my face._

"_You give up to easily." I turned and saw Jonathan sitting next to me. He was resting his chin on his hand just staring at me as if I were an interesting book._

"_You left me." My jaw began freezing up as my flesh gave way to the brittle flesh of porcelain. He reached out and put his hand over my mouth, halting its progress._

_"I said I would come back for you. You're different from all the others; you can hold another like I do." He lowered his hand, sliding it down my body returning my flesh to its former consistency._

"_You want me to let you in. You said that before in the other dream." He stopped as he reached my chest looking back up at me seemingly surprised._

"_And what exactly did I tell you?" _

"_You said to let you in because Scarecrow would protect me." I felt weak. The bed was dripping blood as it continued to spurt out of my ragged veins. There was so much blood I felt empty inside._

"_And how exactly are you going to do that?" He leaned up until he was nose to nose with me. His eyes glowing with an ethereal light._

_"I don't know." He held my chin in his hand so I couldn't look away._

"_Then I'll show you." He leaned ever closer and just before our lips could touch…_

"Ah found you. Hiding under the bed? Now that's just odd." Joker ripped me from my dream as he pulled me out from under the bed. His grip on my ankle was painful but I kept my mouth shut. After I was safely out from under said bed, he pulled me to my feet and dusted me off. "There we go, all nice and pretty." He grabbed my chin and held it firmly in his grasp. His other hand started smoothing out my hair as if I were a doll he was cleaning up.

"What do you want with me Joker?" His grin grew as I spoke to him.

"Oh how I've missed that voice. We've got a date tonight so I'll need you to get all nice and spiffy." He let go of my chin and grabbed each of my arms near the shoulders. "And when I mean spiffy I mean spiffy." He grinned his yellow teeth glinting in the light. He shook me for a moment as if to drive his point home. "Now the boys here have stocked this room up with all sorts of nice clothes for you to wear, I'll be back in an hour. Be dressed to kill." He pushed me away from him and strode back out locking the door behind him.

"Spiffy? The hell is spiffy?" If my eyebrow could rise any higher I'm sure I'd see stars. I looked the room over for what seemed the first time. A nice sized bed in the middle, a bathroom off to the left. Two dressers on either side of the bed, a wardrobe in the corner. I sighed and walked over to the wardrobe and flung the doors open. I was assaulted by bright colors and dressed in every fabric I could think of. I hated dresses but if this was what he deemed 'spiffy' then I guess I'd play along. I searched through them until I found the only one in my size. I pulled it out and sighed, green and purple how original. I walked to the bathroom and showered before finding underwear that I could wear under it. The dress clung to my chest but flowed down over my hips in a wave of fabric. The lace underneath was an unfamiliar sensation against my legs. I found some tights in the dresser and slid them on. The straps were thin and made the dress seem made for me. I looked down and swished the fabric around my thighs, wishing it would have at least reached my knees. I felt like I was walking around in a baby doll lingerie set. I found a pair of purple and green shoes in wardrobe and slid them on. I brushed my hair and let it flow down around my shoulders. I ignored the makeup left lying around and just put on some lip gloss and eyeliner. I hated makeup with a passion; I only put it on because I didn't want him to have me do it at gunpoint. I felt like a clown in these colors, true the green looked good on me but the purple made me feel like I was the center of attention. I walked out of the bathroom and froze seeing Joker sitting on the bed leaning back as if he were waiting for me.

"Oh now that's spiffy. And boy do I know spiffy." He stood up and held out his hand to me. "Come now doll face, we've got a party to crash and so many people to maim and scar for life." He laughed and grabbed my hand pulling me out of the room and through the warehouse. All too soon we were in the back of a white van and his arm was around me. I didn't like it but I couldn't fight, he had that gun still strapped to his side and it dug against me with every bump in the road. He smelled like gasoline and matches with something underneath that I couldn't identify.

"So whose party are we going to?" I kept my eyes glued to the floor I didn't want to stare at his grinning face for the fear that I would punch it and end up in an even worse predicament.

"Oh the who doesn't matter." He stroked my hair and pulled me closer against him. "It's the why. And I mean why not?" He cackled and shook me as if I were in on the joke. I could feel his eyes burning down the front of my dress as I shook and my fists clenched into the fabric of the dress.

Soon we were being unloaded from the car and handed masks. Mine was a pale porcelain half mask that was painted green and gold. The eyes were catlike in shape and it had purple feathers hanging down the entire left side, effectively hiding my scar. I felt ridiculous until I looked over at Jokers mask. It was a phantom of the opera mask that was colored green with purple lipstick on the lips. He held out his arm to me and I took it I was pulled up the stairs and into a room full of people. I could see his goons wearing cheap suits and masks mingling with the others. The men and women dancing seemed to be covered in pearls and gold and my eyes searched the room wondering where I had been taken. A large banner on the other side of the room made me freeze in my tracks. 'Gotham fundraiser for victims of drugs and abuse' stood out brightly against the walls. I could see a large container under the banner that was having money shoved inside by men and women with large smiles on their faces. They were trying to help victims like my sister but would never get the chance. I wanted to shout, to get someone's attention for help but before I could Joker beat me to it.

"Well hello ladies and gents of Gotham City." He ripped his mask off and everyone started screaming and rushing for the exits. The goons had blocked them all off and were carrying large guns pointed right into the crowd. Many of the women started crying and the men tried to protect them the best they could.

"Well now since this is a fund raiser I've decided that we should amend the cause a little bit." His grin was large and he waved his hands around for emphasis. He walked over and ripped the banner down before stomping on it and laughing. "Well it seems that the poor little victims will have a cold Christmas this year." He grabbed the container of money and tossed it to a nearby goon. "Now let's see how much you're all willing to give." His voice turned serious as he pulled the gun from his pocket. "Find your nearest Joker donation collector and hand over your valuables. I'll take payment in the forms of cash, credit card, jewelry and blood." He laughed loudly making several women begin to weep loudly. "Oh I don't take tears, so don't bother trying to cash those in." One of the men tried to push a goon away from the woman he was with and in the next moment was on the floor with a hole in his head. "Now who's willing to donate?"

"You're a monster!" One of the women screamed at Joker as she threw her diamond earrings at him. A goon grabbed her and started ripping her dress, pulling her valuables from her body.

"Oh feisty I like that." He just laughed and I stood there helpless as these men and women were robbed blind. Just when I thought that it was over a goon shoved a gas mask over my face and held it in place. I struggled but then I noticed that all the goons had slipped some on.

"Well now we come to the end of the party. I'm glad you could all make it, you're just going to love what I have in store for you next." A green gas started flowing into the room and everyone started screaming. There was a wild panic and I could hear gunshots and screams as the gas blocked most of the action from my view. The gas stung my skin but I endured it with tears falling down my cheeks. He was a monster.

"Oh he he look at all the poor saps enjoying my gas." The gas cleared and I could see Joker dancing with the body of a women dressed in black. Her face was pulled back into a twisted grin and her face pale from death. He spun her around and dipped her before dropping the body to the floor. "Oh now that's no fun, I want a woman with a little life in her." His gaze turned to mine and he walked over slowly, fixing his suit as he did so. The mask was pulled from my face and I waited for the gas to claim me too but it never did.

"Oh don't worry doll face, it's a short acting batch. Don't want to loose you just yet." He grabbed me and pulled me to his chest, I could hear his heart beating wildly next to my ear. "Shall we dance?" He adjusted our positions until my hand was in his and his other hand was on my hip. I tried to block out the scene around us as I put my hand on his shoulder. He had just killed a room full of people who were trying to save those who couldn't save themselves.

"Do I have a choice?" He pulled me the center of the room when a slow song sparked to life over the speakers. I was pulled around in a slow waltz as he just grinned at me. After a bit he leaned down and kissed my scar before whispering in my ear.

"A choice? Most of us never get that far. Enjoy your stay at Joker's Palace my little red one. I think I'm keeping you." He laughed quietly and led me around the dance floor one more time, kicking bodies out of his way as if they didn't matter. As if they were nothing to him. "Now lets dance and tomorrow I'll show you the world."


	8. To Hide my Face

Chapter 8

To hide my face

_Thinking/Dreams_

**Alternate Voices**

Speaking

* * *

I don't remember the last of the dance or the ride back to the warehouse. When I finally realized I was alone I was back in the room and sitting on the bed. My neck was heavy and I felt a large necklace strapped around it. I ripped it off and tossed it across the room. I didn't want something ripped from the body of a dead woman. I didn't want anything to do with this. I tore through the wardrobe and dressers until I found a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. I ripped the dress from my body and slipped into the familiar fabric of jeans and cotton. I was shaking so hard that I clutched the dresser white knuckled. I had to get away but if I did could I keep away from Maroni's men and stay alive? I saw what he did to those people just because he wanted some fun. What would he do to get me back?

I tried the door and it was locked no surprise there. I walked over and sat back down on the bed, I felt the weight of the world on my shoulders and it was dragging me down. I needed sleep. I half expected to find a dead body in the bed as I pulled back the covers but it seemed safe enough so I curled up and passed out.

_I could hear the beeping of the heart monitor to my right and I knew I was in the hospital again. I opened my eyes and stared blankly at the tiles of the ceiling. I didn't hear Mae's footfalls in the hall and I wondered if the dream had changed yet again._

"_Rough day?" I turned to see Jonathan to my right again. He was wearing a nice black suit and had a pair of glasses perched on his nose. He looked as if he were going to court or to teach a class._

"_You could say that. You look spiffy." I felt drained and took in his appearance again._

"_Spiffy? Dear lord you've been around him less then a day and you're picking up his word play." He stroked my hair and I waited for the dream to turn, I waited for the dolls to show up. For something to bleed._

"_Why are you showing up in my dreams, why now?" I was still restrained so I just leaned into his hand as it brushed through my hair._

"_Because you needed me, you needed us. So we came." He was acting like this was some normal occurrence._

"_Am I dreaming this or did you really drop out of your life just to see me?" I was going crazy I had to be._

"_Jonathan is still awake." He stated like it was a secret and smiled at me._

"_So he doesn't know you're here?" And here I thought they were both hiding around in my head._

"_Not yet. He doesn't think I can do it." He pushed me to the side and crawled into the hospital bed with me. He undid my restraints and pulled me against him._

"_He doesn't think you can do what?" I could almost feel the fabric of his suit and I just laid there in his arms glad to be away from the horrors if just for one night._

"_Bridge the gaps in our minds, jump from his to yours." His lips were against my temple placing soft kisses as his hands wrapped around me possessively._

"_Now I know I must be dreaming. Scarecrow is his alternate personality, a whole other person created by him living in his head. I've never heard of them joining up with someone else's mind."_

"_You just wait, I'll find a way. You're ours remember. You're different, your mind is different." His kisses trailed down to my chin and I could actually feel his lips on my skin._

"_This dream feels so real." I leaned against him and he froze. I could still feel the kisses moving on my skin. "That is you isn't it?"_

"_Wake up now. We'll finish this later." He looked upset and pushed me away._

I woke up and screamed trying to push the man off me. I flailed around hitting him a few times until he pinned me down and I looked up into the red eyes of the Joker himself.

"Ah good morning to you too." He smiled, I had busted his lip open so his blood covered his teeth and dripped down his chin.

"The hell were you doing?" I tried to pull away but he sat atop of me and just grinned down at my helpless form.

"Oh come now. I just wanted to play with my pretty new toy, get a taste for this new candy." His blood was falling down onto his shirt staining the green fabric with drops of red.

"Get off of me." I hissed at him, I was not going to let him abuse me like that.

"Oh you have so much life in you. I just can't wait to watch it bleed away." His hand was at my neck and I froze. "Now you're going to play nice or I'll have to send your broken body back to straw boy."

"What do you want?" He wasn't choking me but he wasn't gripping lightly either.

"Oh we're going to hang around the old homestead today. We had too much fun last night and almost led the bat right to us. Silly me." He giggled and sat up letting go of my neck and body. "Now I think we need a shower." He leered down at me before pulling me off the bed and into the bathroom with him.

"Shouldn't we take separate showers?" I looked at the shower and imagined how cramped it would be with him in it.

"Oh just think, if we shower together we save water and what was it now, protect Mother Nature's finite supply of resources. At least that's what that green bitch Ivy keeps spouting off about." He batted his eyes at me and began stripping as if it were nothing. I wanted to look away but it was like watching a car accident happen right in front of me. I couldn't pull my eyes away as a sick fascination filled my mind wondering if green really was his natural color. I ripped my eyes away as he turned around to face me and noticed that I was still dressed. "Oh come now that isn't fair, I've dropped my pants and you haven't."

"I'll just catch the next shower." I tried backing out of the room but he grabbed me and began ripping the clothes from my body as if it were his job. All too soon I was standing uncomfortably in the shower with him behind me.

"Oh this is cozy isn't it." My arms were wrapped around my chest and I tried to keep from turning around, I was curious but not that curious. He grabbed the soap and began soaping himself up then took the liberty if starting to clean my body as well.

"I can do that myself." I grabbed the soap from him as he tried to shove it into my cleavage.

"Aww now that's not fair." He pushed past me switching our positions until I was behind him and he was taking up all the water. He was as white as the paint on his face, scars dotted his back and I could see the muscles in his back and shoulders flexing under his skin. The water beaded off his form and I looked away as I soaped myself up. I felt like I was getting dirtier the longer I was in the shower. He turned around and I kept my gaze at chest level.

"Need something?" I refused to meet his gaze or look any lower. He just spun us around once again until I was under the water. I could hear him fumbling with the bottles of shampoo behind me.

"Oh don't be such a sour puss. You should be enjoying this. Not many people get to shower with the great Joker and live to tell about it." He leaned against me and tilted my chin until I could meet his eyes. "Oh there we go, thought I lost you for a second. Here let me get your hair." He dumped a great big glop of shampoo on my head and began massaging it in, I can't deny that it felt good. I tried to imagine that Jonathan was behind me doing this but when my body started to respond I quickly squashed that thought and tried to remember the horror show of last night. Thankfully the shampoo was washed from my hair and he leaned forward to clean his own head, leaning right over me and getting a face full of my chest. I felt like a piece of meat being stared down by a rabid dog. I closed my eyes and tried to keep the urge to bite him down, he might have liked that. Soon he stepped out of the shower and I turned off the water waiting behind the curtain hoping he would leave. He flung the curtain open and my curiosity was sated, green was his natural color. I looked away quickly as he chuckled and threw a towel around my body.

"I really didn't need to see that." I tried to hide in the towel and dry myself at the same time.

"Oh but you did, and you'll be seeing a lot more in the future. Especially since you're going to be my gal. I'll dress you up nice, take you to all the parties and when we get home…" He trailed off and made a groaning sound in the back of his throat. "We even have matching scars, well almost." He laughed and pulled me from the shower before slipping a towel around his waist and sauntering off. I heard the door shut and lock and I saw that he had left me alone finally. I nearly collapsed against the shower and shook like a leaf. I didn't want that kind of contact with that man ever again. He just treated me almost like a loofa in that shower and I didn't like it.

I dressed in jeans and a t-shirt again and wished that I had a suit of armor to wear around him. He was gone for so long that I curled back up in bed and hoped that I could drift off to Jonathan again. I pulled the covers over my head and blocked out the world.

_I was in a shower this time. The water felt nice on my body but I was frozen inside. I quickly turned around and saw that I was alone, no joker to molest me. I relaxed and let the water wash the feeling of him off my skin. But the water didn't feel right, I opened my eyes and saw that I was bathing in blood, I was soaked in it. Pulling the curtain away I was faced with a line of dolls across the sink just staring at me. They looked like the people from the party, the mouths twisted into macabre grins. I stumbled from the shower and tried to knock them onto the floor, I wanted them to stop staring at me._

_I screamed as the first doll bit me, digging its small teeth deep into the flesh of my arm. Soon the dolls were biting me on any inch of exposed flesh they could find. I was ripping them off and throwing them everywhere trying to get free. I was bleeding as they stared up at me from the floor laughing wildly. Tears mingled with blood streaming down my face. I wanted to hide from their gaze and I fled the bathroom slamming the door behind me. A soft touch against my bare back made me scream and spin around hitting the person behind me._

_Jonathan. Once again dressed in his suit and looking prim and proper. I was just standing there naked, covered in blood and bleeding from the dolls still digging into my flesh. I had left a bloody hand print on the side of his face and I watched it drip down his chin and onto the white of his dress shirt._

"_Jonathan, I'm sorry." I cried harder and pressed my hands to my head. There was so much I wanted to escape from but couldn't._

"_Any reason why you're naked?" He hadn't reacted to the slap and was pulling off his coat and wrapping it around me._

"_I was forced into taking a shower with him." I was pulled into his embrace as he shook with rage against me._

"_He…he was in the shower with you?" _

"_Yes, it was horrible. He kept trying to touch me and wash me." My gaze lifted to meet his._

"_I'm going to kill him. No one touches what's mine." He was seething._

"_How can I do it?" I was tired of being afraid. I wanted someone to save me._

"_You want to kill him?" He looked me over as if I had grown another head._

"_No. That merge thing you were talking about. If you were there you could help me." His hands dug into my shoulders and his eyes trapped me in his gaze._

"_It might not work, it might hurt you more then you already are." He pulled me against him and rested his chin on the top of my head._

"_I really need someone right now. I need you." I wrapped my arms around him not caring that I was ruining his shirt. I was lost and I needed something to hold onto._

"_You're not ready yet, I'm still laying the foundations in your mind. Stay strong and remember that I am coming for you. You need to wake up now; I need some time in my own head to get my plan in motion." His hands felt good on my back and I nuzzled into his chest further. I could actually feel his heart beating against my flesh and smell his skin. He smelled like gasoline and matches. My blood froze and I wrenched myself from the dream._

My eyes snapped open and met with an obnoxious purple suit. Leather gloved hands were up the back of my shirt softly massaging my flesh. I froze and looked up into the amused face of Joker. His grin was large and his teeth flashing in the light.

"Pleasant dreams?" He quickly pushed me onto my back and rolled on top of me. He leaned down until he was nose to nose with me.

"Joker get off!" I tried to struggle away from him but his grin just got larger and more demonic.

"Such a naughty choice of words my dear. Guess I'll just have to oblige you." He laughed and grabbed me by my neck. His free hand popped the button on my pants and started ripping them off my frame. I was clawing at his arm tearing small rips into the fabric of his suit but he didn't seem to mind or care. He had strength in him that frightened me. I know that crazy men are crazy strong but damn. I tried to kick him in the family jewels as he threw my jeans across the room. He grabbed my thigh and squeezed it until I could actually see it bruising. "Now play nice little red. Tonight Papa J is gonna make you his woman."


	9. And the confusion sets in

Chapter 9

Confusion Sets In

_Thinking/Dreams_

**Alternate Voices**

Speaking

* * *

I shouldn't be enjoying this; I should be screaming and fighting to get him to stop. Instead my body is writhing under his as every movement is making small shots of electric pleasure run up my spine. His tongue drags across my scar as he lifts my hips to start pounding himself deeper into me. I let out a low moan and my nails drag down his pale shoulders ripping into his skin and releasing little rivers of red. He groans deep in his throat and pistons in and out of my body making me whimper under him.

"Don't worry little red Papa J won't break you." He manages to groan out before sliding his mouth down to start nipping and sucking at my breasts. One of my hands moves to his hair pressing him down against my flesh as my body shakes around his. I manage a strangled moan as my orgasm explodes and I shake around him. He just chuckles but doesn't stop his relentless thrusting into my being. "Oh little red, you do know how to make your man excited." He wraps his arms under my back and grabs my shoulders before lowering his weight on me and starts pounding me as if he can melt our bodies together. My whole body shakes as he jackhammers into me again and again hard and fast. Lights flash behind my eyes as I wrap my legs around his hips so close to reaching my peak again.

"J-Joker!" I couldn't stop myself from screaming his name as my body locked up from the pleasure screaming through my veins. He let out a roar like a wild animal and his body stiffened above mine and I could feel him releasing deep inside of me. With a few deep powerful thrusts he finishes and buries his face in my shoulder while we both pant and lie there exhausted.

"Oh little red, seems that you enjoy having Joker fill those empty spaces in your life." He chuckled warily and ran his tongue along my neck while his hands slide down to hold my hips against his. "Now I know what you're thinking, 'Oh Joker the god of sex, please take me again' but Papa J needs some time to recharge his battery." He stopped to lick his scars and run his teeth across the flesh of my shoulder. He lightly bit down and groaned tasting my skin before speaking again. "Don't worry though big mister J will oblige you later. My little red." His voice was husky and he rolled off of me making my legs shake as his body pulled free of my own. I needed a shower and I could feel something hot dripping down from my womanhood making me clench my legs closed with a shaky breath.

Joker pulled me against his body and I could hear his heart thrumming in his chest as our heated skin met once again. He pulled the sheets over our naked forms and dragged my arm across his waist holding onto my wrist tightly. He kissed the top of my head and I fought to keep my eyes open but exhaustion was quickly dragging me down and as my eyes shut I heard him whisper something almost to himself.

"This one will be my own, not letting her get taken from me."

_My dream isn't like the others I wake up lying in bed with the sheets draped over my waist and I'm reeling from wave after wave of pleasure radiating through my body. Just when I about to cry out begging for it to stop the sheets rise and a pair of hands slide out __ from under the sheets __and pull a head with dark hair up to eye level. I blink and within moments I'm staring up at Jonathan's hooded eyes. One of his hands grabs my neck in a possessive gentle manner and the other squeezes one of my wrists as he stares down at me._

"_What part about you are mine don't you understand?" He was panting and breathless atop of me and the pleasure rolling through my body abated for the moment. He leaned down and kissed me so hard I tasted blood on my tongue. He only stopped to let me breathe and I looked up at him in confusion._

"_Jonathan you haven't come to save me yet." His eyes searched mine and he groaned before shifting and that feeling of pleasure rolled through me again. He grit his teeth and I saw the shift in his eyes bringing Scarecrow forth._

"_Woman, we will save you. And so help me god when we do I will personally burn my brand into your flesh so you will never forget me." He took a shuddering breath and his nails raked over my throat gently. "Now you wanted to let me in so I hope you are ready because Scarecrow's going to fill you right up." His grin turned into something twisted and dark almost as if I were staring up at a waking nightmare. His eyes began bleeding like the dolls as he took possession of my body and pulled my hair back forcing me to meet his black gaze. His eyes were like two pools of emptiness void of emotion and his teeth had become jagged and sharp. "Let the fear fill you." His mouth descended on mine and his bloody tears blinded me making me thrash to try and free myself. I felt like something was ripping me apart and digging blades into my flesh cutting me deeper and deeper with each thrust of his body. I felt weak as his body forced mine over the edge of pleasure._

_There wasn't an inch of me not covered in blood and I couldn't see. It felt as if I were blinded by tar and it burned like fire. Something moved under my skin making me scream and claw at my stomach but I was held back by two strong arms. Whimpering I cried and my tears cleared my eyes enough to see it was just Jonathan atop of me still. He had a dark smile on his face and he tilted his head to the side before leaning down to whisper in my ear._

"_Got you now Sara body and soul, embrace the nightmare before it kills you." He raised his head and placed a soft kiss to my bleeding lips before speaking again. "I'm still coming for you, and now you hold Scarecrow inside yourself and he won't ever let you go."_

_Pain lashed through my body making me close my eyes and bite back another scream. Just as quickly as the pain hit it stopped and I opened my eyes. I was sitting alone on the bed, no blood, and no sign of anyone except the dolls. I was staring at a line of dolls sitting across from me; they were all smiling and dripping crimson mortality onto the sheets. I clutched my head in pain and cried as I kicked out at the dolls. Just before I could kick one onto the floor to shatter…_

I woke up alone in the bed. I quickly pulled the sheets off my body but I'm not covered in blood just bruises. I curl up into a ball and take a calming breath before limping to the shower and scrubbing my body as if I can cleanse my mind as well. I had no idea what I'd gotten into when I agreed to save my sister and now I felt so lost and confused. My head felt like it was breaking in two and I squeezed my eyes shut and let the water beat down on it. After a moment the pressure resided and I opened my eyes, everything was tinted red. With a cry of alarm I threw myself against the side of the shower and blinked until I could see clearly again. My fingers trailed up to my eyes and came back bloody; I was bleeding from my eyes. _Am I dying?_

After a moment the bleeding stopped and I curled up in a ball at the base of the shower taking deep rattling breaths to attempt to calm myself down. I sat there curled up until the water ran cold and the chill seemed to pierce my flesh like tiny needles. I forced myself to stand but my legs almost couldn't hold me up. The walls of the shower braced me until I could calm my racing heart. I had to get out of here, not just out of Joker's grip but out of Gotham all together. I had to find Mae and go, but she needed her cure first.

A dark shape stood outside the shower curtain and I thought that it was Joker. I quickly opened the curtain but there was no one there. A chill crept up my spine again and I shut off the water and wrapped a towel around my body. Cautiously creeping out into the bathroom my eyes searched every nook and cranny. The bathroom was empty, my room was empty. Was I still asleep? I pinched myself and bit my lip as pain radiated through my arm. I was awake but what the hell was going on?

I couldn't relax even after I'd dressed myself in a pair of Jeans and a green t-shirt. I found the cell phone that Jonathan left me and quickly shoved it in my pocket. I spent a few moments with my head wrapped in the towel to dry my hair and hide from the world. Rubbing my eyes I made sure they weren't bleeding again and wondered why they had in the first place. Dropping my wet towel on the floor I stalked over to the door and tried the knob. It was unlocked and I cautiously stepped out into the hall. There wasn't anyone in sight, Joker had left me unguarded. I took a chance and started walking and checking doors to try and find an exit. I found the kitchen instead.

My stomach screamed at me for food and I checked the cupboards and fridge until I had enough to make a meal. The smell of vegetable soup filled the kitchen and I curled up at the table with a bottle of soda while I ate. I was starving but the food was almost making my stomach churn. Brushing it off I finished my meal and sat there looking for any clue as to how to get out of this place. I just carelessly left the dishes in the sink and padded down the halls some more until I came to a ladder going up. It was horribly rusted but I was almost desperate enough to give it a try.

The rust bit into my hands making me wince as I climbed higher and higher onto the cat walks above. The mesh flooring muffled my steps as I wandered from dark corner to dark corner almost as if I were in a maze. A ray of light peeked through a broken window and I peered out sighing in relief seeing Gotham and the harbor on the other side. I could almost smell the breeze off the water and the sunlight felt so good on my skin.

Suddenly I smelled blood and fire and my eyes snapped open to take in the hellish sight before me. Gotham was burning and the water was filled with bodies and tinted red with blood. I could hear screaming, so much screaming. I flung myself back in horror and I hit the railing behind me and flipping over the side. My scream died in my throat as I caught hold of the mesh catwalk and pulled myself back up. I stood back up with shaky legs and looked back out the window. Everything was normal; there were no bodies or fire. I shook my head and wrapped my arms around myself.

I wandered around the catwalks for what seemed like hours and the entire warehouse was empty. Had Joker left? Was I safe? I found another ladder going down and took it without thinking. Just as I was about to reach the floor the ladder broke and I fell a few feet to the floor with a painful twisting sensation in my ankle. I groaned and looked down at it, my ankle looked fine. I wiggled my toes and it wasn't broken I think. I got to my feet and limped around as no one came to investigate the noise. I took a few halls and found myself in the room where Jonathan had to hand me over to the Joker. I saw that it was empty but looked as if someone had been living there. Bags of chips and beer bottles littered the entire space and there were even a few burns on the couches and bullet holes in the walls. But no sign of Joker.

"Maybe I can escape?" Taking my chances I limped to the door and it wasn't even locked. The doors opened easily and I stepped out into the light of day with shock flooding my system. The warehouse looked abandoned, something was wrong. Why would Joker abandon me? I wasn't about to ask any questions and I quickly started limping towards the city. I at least knew how to get back to my little house from here but the question was did I want to? Would I be safe there? Something shifted in my head and pain shot through my skull making me whimper. I grabbed my head in pain and something sticky ran down my face.

Opening my eyes the world was tinted red again, I wiped my eyes and sure enough they were bleeding again. Something was desperately wrong with me and I should probably be in a hospital. I started to hyperventilate and nearly collapsed where I stood until the bleeding subsided and the pain in my head relented. Had Joker done something to me while I was asleep? Was this a result of that dream I had with Jonathan and Scarecrow? Was I just having a mental breakdown? I stopped and took a deep breath trying to calm my nerves. I had to take this just one step at a time, I would have to work my way back up to being who I was before all this. First things first, shelter. I wasn't about to stay at the warehouse and risk Joker coming back and wanting another round with me. I started limping towards Gotham each step sending a shooting pain up my leg making me want to stop and just lay down and rest.

I made two blocks before I was pale and shaking. Doubled over in pain I collapsed on the blacktop and sat there for a moment just taking in the world around me. I was still in the warehouse district and I could see the worn metal structures stretching on for what seemed like miles. Crawling back onto my feet I grit my teeth and continued on. I survived being cut up and sewn shut by a mobster and some drugged up addicts. I survived a day with the Joker, that was more then could be said about half of Gotham at this point. I knew I had strength in me I just needed to call it up and maybe I could limp another few blocks.

I made it another six feet before my leg gave out and I collapsed in a heap. The muscles in my leg were screaming at me to stop and I couldn't help but listen to them. I rested my head against the ground and beat myself up mentally. I froze when my world tinted red again and I heard a crow start calling nearby. Snapping my head up there was a single black crow sitting no more then three feet from me just staring. Its eyes were black and seemed soulless. Its form seemed to waver slightly almost as if it weren't solid at all. I crawled over to it and it just sat there staring at me. Reaching out I stroked its head and my fingers were coated with something sticky. Looking down I rubbed them together and it was almost like they were covered in tar.

"The hell?" I sat up and the crow just walked over and climbed up onto my knee and sat there. It stared up at me and I noticed that it had left little black tracks where it had been walking. Looking down at my pant leg I could see tar dripping slowly down my knee onto the blacktop. _Am I going crazy?_ The crow was just staring up at me as if it were completely tame and unable to fly. I reached out again with my tar covered fingers and pet it like a cat. It let out a soft cawing sound and nuzzled against my hand leaving my hand dripping tar like candle wax.

"Are you going to hurt me?" I looked at this bird before me and it tilted its head as if it were thinking. For several heartbeats it stared at me before actually shaking its head 'no'. Tar dripped off its beak and splattered against the fabric of my pants leaving little black spots all over my leg. It cawed softly again and I reached out and lightly rubbed it under the chin and its eyes closed with a contented sigh. I could feel the weight of the crow on my knee and it was actually quite heavy, like a large cat sitting on your lap. I could feel the tar on my skin and my leg was heating up from the body heat that the bird was putting off. Was it even a bird?

A sliding sensation along my leg drew my eyes back to the crow as it was walking up my leg and kind of climbed up onto my shoulder near my right ear. It snuggled down against my neck dripping tar along my body as if it were nothing. I felt comforted and confused as all hell. I could feel its beak lightly rubbing against my chin as if it were nuzzling me but before I could say another word I heard the sound of running feet and a strange man wearing clown makeup appeared from around the corner a few warehouses down.

"Hey boss I found her!" He shouted and started running towards me. The crow hissed and dug its claws into my shoulder not enough to break the skin but enough to hold on tightly. The man didn't even bat an eye or look as if he'd seen the bird. I leaned my chin against it and before the man could get to me I managed to whisper a few words to it.

"Don't leave me." The bird instantly silenced and pressed its beak against my neck with a soft nuzzle again. I calmed down somewhat and the man in the clown makeup dropped to his knees once he reached me and started looking me over.

"You hurt lady?" He sounded worried and started checking me for injuries. He didn't even see the tar on my body or seem to feel it under his hand as he checked my knee and then pulled back when I cried out at the pressure he put on my ankle. "Oh hell boss is gonna kill us." I was instantly picked up and the crow slid from my shoulder onto my stomach where it hunkered down like a little sentinel watching everything that was going on around me.

"Ah there you are you naughty little minx." I snapped my eyes over seeing Joker standing there looking a bit disheveled and quite pissed off. He seemed slightly out of breath as if he'd been running and the man in the clown makeup quickly handed me over to him. His grip was like iron and his eyes were burning with almost amusement that I'd gotten so far.

"She's screwed up her ankle boss, should we call a medic?" Joker snapped his head up and glared at the man until I was sure that he'd wet himself.

"Well why haven't you called for one yet?" His voice held both violence and amusement as the painted man ran off as if the hounds of hell were on his heels. Joker just casually started walking as if he were out on a stroll. After a few silent moments I knew we were headed back to the warehouse and I wondered if this was the last I would see the light of day. "You know I'm surprised you made it so far, if you hadn't well I would have been offended." He giggled and spun around making the crow dig its claws into my stomach to hold on. "You've got some moxie kid and it takes a lot to surprise me. Usually I don't like surprises but I'm strangely amused by you." He let out a loud cackle that made me wince and the crow flinched.

"I amuse you?" My voice seemed so tiny compared to the presence behind his and Joker for a moment held me softer almost tenderly against himself. He leaned down and nuzzled against my ear just as the warehouse came into sight.

"Not many things in this world amuse me the way you do little red. I may take some time off my bat hunting and show you just how appreciative I am of your amusement." I tensed up as he licked my ear and the crow gave a hiss of what seemed like pure rage. Joker didn't even seem to hear or see it and he pulled away as if nothing had happened. His grip re-tightened and he waltzed back into the warehouse, literally. It was if we were dancing to a beat that only played in his head and he was humming as he led me past the living areas to a room in the back. Kicking open the door I was met by a large bed covered in purple silk sheets. He tossed me on the bed and straightened his suit before leering down at me while adjusting his tie.

"Welcome to daddy's room. Get comfy because you're going to be spending some time in here until you learn not to wander. Now be a good girl and wait for that pesky medic to arrive. I have places to be and people to kill, but don't worry too much. I'll still be home for dinner!" He threw his head back as he laughed long and hard while he left the room. He slammed the door shut and I heard locks clicking into place.

The crow climbed off my stomach and walked along the bed leaving trails of tar all over the silk sheets. It started bouncing around like a small child and then found a comfortable perch on one of the pillows and hunkered down. I sighed and slid up to lay against the pillows next to the crow and sat there like a broken doll for several moments.

"I'm going crazy aren't I?" I looked over at the crow and it shook its head 'no' again. "But no one else can see you." I was talking to a crow that was dripping tar off its feathers like wax from a candle. It just sighed and shook its head 'no' again. "If I'm not crazy then what does this make me?" I huffed and the crow reached out and nipped at my skin in an almost affectionate way. I groaned and looked up at the ceiling for a moment while closing my eyes. "I am so confused."


	10. Am I Falling into Madness?

Chapter 10

Am I Falling into Madness?

_Thinking/Dreams_

**Alternate Voices**

Speaking

* * *

I opened my eyes and looked back over at the crow. It tilted its head to the side a bit as if it were confused and I reached out to stroke it again. I felt so alone I just wanted someone to hold. The crow cawed softly and hopped off the pillow and hopped over to me before crawling up to lay on my stomach. It rested its head between my breasts and just stared down at me. I slowly pet it and it let out a contented sigh almost as if it loved the attention. I didn't really seem to mind the fact that I was being covered in the sticky tar it was dripping from its body.

"What exactly are you?" I whispered and the crow made a soft chattering sound almost as if it were talking. I shook my head a bit with a sad smile and continued to slowly pet it. The crow huffed almost as if it realized that I couldn't understand it and it nuzzled against my breasts getting comfortable. The crow was so warm I rapidly found myself drifting off to sleep as I relaxed back against the pillows.

_I was sitting on top of an old brick apartment building staring out at the Gotham skyline. The sun was just setting and I wondered how I'd gotten up onto the roof as my feet dangled over the edge into the open air. I heard a soft whirring sound almost like a wind up toy that was running down. I turned to look and saw a wooden toy crow hopping around a few broken dolls. The dolls were lying in a pool of red and shards of porcelain were still rocking softly as if they'd just been broken._

_The crow was hopping around the broken pieces and getting covered in the blood of the dolls and I wondered if it had broken them. I reached out to grab the crow when a cold shadow cast itself over me and I froze. I wanted to see who was behind me but I was almost too afraid to look. I could hear a crunching noise almost as if someone were walking through straw. I felt a warm breath on my neck and some type of scratchy material against my ear._

"_Who are you?" My voice was timid and it took me a moment to get my thoughts together to speak._

"_You know who I am." The voice was almost a growl but it was masculine and dark. It sent shivers up and down my spine but not in a bad way. I wanted to hear him talk some more as I was already missing the sound of his voice._

"_Are you the crow?" I looked down at the toy crow that was still slowly hopping around in the blood splashing it with each movement._

"_In a way. I'm not a crow but I was made to bring fear into their hearts." I felt a hand on my shoulder and I turned to look at it. The fingers were longer then a humans and ended in sharp almost taloned fingers. There was dried blood on his hands and his talons almost looked like they were caked in tar. His grip was strong but he didn't seem to be trying to hurt me._

"_You're Scarecrow." It hit me like a ton of bricks and I felt my heart drop down past my stomach. I looked away from his hand and back out at the skyline before me._

"_That I am little one, now tell me what do you fear?" I felt something slimy and hot drag across the side of my face and my vision tinted red again. I could feel the blood dripping from my eyes and he seemed to tense up. He growled softly and his hand moved from my shoulder to cup my cheek gently as that slimy feeling caressed my cheek licking the blood from my flesh._

"_My eyes keep bleeding…am I going to die?" Something cold gripped my heart and squeezed it until I couldn't breathe. I whimpered and two arms wrapped around me and a warm chest pressed up against my back. I felt his chin rest on the top of my head and he seemed to be growling softly deep in his chest. I could feel the vibrations softly moving throughout my body._

"_Perhaps. I wasn't as gentle as I wanted to be when I crawled into your flesh and claimed your mind." His taloned fingers stroked my cheek softly and I could feel the soft scraping they made against my flesh. "Tell me, why do you keep dreaming of the dolls?"_

"_I don't know, I've been dreaming of them ever since I was a little girl." I looked back over at the broken dolls and I saw that the toy crow had fallen onto its side and was slowly kicking almost as if it were dying. I tried to reach for it but Scarecrow held me firm in his grip and I just couldn't reach._

"_Why do you want to pick the crow up so badly? It's time is almost at an end." He sounded curious but I kept trying to reach the crow with a sense of urgency rising in my mind._

"_I…I don't want it to leave. If it does then I'll be alone." My vision was red once more as my bloody tears freely fell down my cheeks. Scarecrow grabbed my hand and pulled it back against me as the crow's movements slowed down to the point it was almost still._

"_You're afraid of being alone?" His voice was cold and sent shivers up and down my spine. I nodded and something grabbed my heart to the point it hurt to breathe and each beat seemed to send pain throughout my body._

"_Yes…I don't want to be alone…please don't…please don't leave me alone." I was struggling against his grip needing to pick up the crow and make it move again. My eyes were having a hard time staying open as the tears flowed freely and stained my skin. Scarecrow held me in an almost crushing grip before I felt a sharp pain in my chest. I looked down and his taloned fingers had pierced my flesh from the force of his grip._

"_I'll give you the crow and let it live if you promise me one thing. One. Little. Thing." His breath was hot against my ear and I let out a pained whimper as his taloned fingers dug deeper into the skin of my chest._

"_What do you want?" I almost felt as if I were about to sell my soul to the devil as the world around me started to shift and I could hear the screaming start to pick up softly on the wind._

"_I want you to be mine…forever." I felt something sharp against my neck scraping softly almost as if it were wearing away at my skin._

"_Forever? What...what if you get tired of me?" I bit my lip starting to feel hopeless and depressed. Why would anyone want to be with me let alone forever? I wanted to curl up in a ball and cry._

"_You are mine. I would never get tired of my future queen. Look around, this world is what waits for you. My world, our world." His grip was like steel and I felt blood running down my cheeks and chest as I looked back out at the skyline. The sky was tinted red and there were bodies in the streets for as far as my eyes could see. I could hear screams and wails of pain on the wind as if thousands of people were being tortured. I squeezed my eyes shut not wanting to see anymore._

"_What kind of world is this?" My voice sounded panicked and he grabbed my chin tightly in his hand. I could feel my skin bruising from the force of his grip._

"_This is our world, the world as it should be. Through Jonathan I will make this world a reality and then you will walk side by side with me. No one will be able to stop us." He hissed in my ear and shook my head a bit forcing my eyes to open and stare at the hellish scene before me. I couldn't take it anymore and thrashed free from his grasp. I grabbed the crow and tried to run back to the safety of the building but slipped on the edge. My eyes widened as I fell over the edge and into the open air below. I let out a shriek before I abruptly stopped falling. A sharp pain erupted from my right wrist and I looked up to see Scarecrow holding onto my arm keeping me from falling._

_My gaze moved from his hand up his impossibly long arms. I was almost afraid to look at him but his face was covered by the brim of his large straw hat. I could just make out his burlap chin and some straw like hair peeking out from under the brim. He had a frayed noose wrapped around his neck and his shirt was tattered and covered in dried blood. His skin looked pale and bloodless from what I could see peeking through the holes in his shirt. He slowly started pulling me up until I was sitting back on the edge of the building. I clutched the toy crow to my chest and shook from fear and pain._

_He sat next to me on the ledge and I saw his long slender legs for the first time. He had a pair of ratty brown slacks on and I could see hay and tar dripping out of the various holes and tears in the fabric. He had scuffed brown leather shoes on which were stained with blood and tar. I dragged my eyes back up his body and my curiosity outweighed my fear as I reached out to raise the brim of his hat to see his face. Inch by inch I raised it until I could see his mouth which was full of sharp blackened teeth. He seemed to have an inhumanly wide mouth and it was fixed into a smirk as if he wanted me to keep looking. He had black thread stitched across his mouth and it looked as if it had been cut freeing him to speak._

_I raised the hat a little higher and saw what looked like a nose straining against the burlap as if it were a mask covering his face and not his skin. The burlap surrounding his eyes was damp with fresh tar and seemed to draw in the light and leave his eyes in shadow. I couldn't see any whites in his eyes just a watery blackness almost as if it they were filled with black ichor. It looked as if the burlap had been half hazardly cut to free his eyes to see and I could see dark eyebrows peeking out from under the fabric and a bit of pale skin. His hair was made of straw and scratched against my hand as I stroked it. He closed his eyes and let out a pleasured growl._

"_Scarecrow what exactly are you?" I cautiously stroked his cheek feeling the hot tar against my fingers. It burned but I didn't pull my hand away. He grinned big showing me his sharpened teeth again before he spoke._

"_I'm the man from your darkest nightmares here to claim what's rightfully mine." He chuckled and lightly nipped at my fingers. His eyes seemed to bore right into mine as he leaned close until his burlap nose touched mine. "Time to wake up, I don't want to leave you helpless for too long. Just remember, no one can touch you like Scarecrow can." He leaned even closer and pressed his burlap lips to mine and it felt as if I were falling._

My eyes snapped open and I looked around the room shivering with a feeling of dread nestled in my chest. I looked over and the crow was lying on its side in the bed in a pool of black ichor. I reached over and stroked its side afraid that it wasn't alive any longer. It seemed to move as if it were struggling through quicksand. It managed to get to its feet and it crawled over to my side crawling back up to nuzzle against my chest. It sighed as I gently placed my hand over it hugging it to my body.

"Are you alright?" My throat felt raw as if I'd been screaming for hours. The crow looked down at me and blinked before nodding slowly.

"Are you…are you a part of Scarecrow?" The black tar dripping off of the crow reminded me of Scarecrows black eyes. The crow dropped its head between my breasts and just stared at me. I didn't think it was going to acknowledge my question after several silent moments. It finally nipped at my skin to get my attention and nodded. I wondered why it took it so long to respond but it seemed exhausted. I softly stroked its tarry feathers and it let out a quiet caw before it wheezed and closed its eyes.

I softly stroked the crow as it seemed to be unconscious but breathing steadily. I didn't feel so alone with it here and I hoped that I hadn't hurt it by forcing it to stay with me. I bit my lip remembering what Scarecrow wanted from me in exchange for keeping me company. Would he really want to keep me forever? I didn't want to fall asleep so I gently sat up and piled the pillows behind me before leaning back against them. The crow didn't even stir as I moved around.

I nearly jumped when the door swung open and a shady looking man walked in carrying what looked like an old fashioned doctor's bag. His eyes seemed to raze across my body and he licked his pale lips before setting the bag on the edge of the bed. The crow was lying across my lap but it was out for the count and I wished that it was awake as I didn't want to be alone with this man.

"Which ankle did you hurt?" He placed his hand on my knee and squeezed it gently making me very uncomfortable.

"My right ankle. I just think I twisted it." My throat still felt raw and the man pulled my shoe off and pulled my pants up to expose my ankle. He slid my sock off and started probing at my skin making me wince and hiss in pain.

"It's more then twisted you've dislocated it. This is going to hurt." He said before he did something to make it crack and pop back into place. I felt like I needed to vomit and the world spun around me. I whimpered trying not to pass out as I started to hyperventilate from the pain. He pulled what looked like a metal brace from the bag and bent it into an L shape before sliding it up to press against the back of my ankle and the bottom of my foot. He held it in place as he wrapped bandages tightly around my ankle. He then pulled what looked like ice packs from his bag and squeezed them until I heard a loud crack from inside. He gave them a quick shake then pressed them against either side of my ankle and holding them in place with some loose ace bandages.

Once he'd finished I noticed that his hand was sliding up my leg and his eyes were dark and held something behind them that I didn't like. I tried to pull my leg away but he grabbed my ankle and squeezed it tightly in his hand. I cried out in pain and tried to kick him but he grabbed me by my neck and squeezed until I was gasping for air.

"Don't go screaming just yet little lady. Let the doctor have his fun first, Joker isn't paying me for this so I'm going to take whatever I can get." He grinned and tried to kiss me. I punched him in the face as hard as I could making him let me go and hold his now bleeding and broken nose. I scrambled across the bed dropping the crow onto the sheets where it groggily woke up and wiggled around confused. I whimpered in fear and tried to climb out the other side but the doctor pounced on my back and tried to pull my clothes off my frame.

I screamed and flailed around and the crow woke up fully and let out a loud hissing noise before I jumped on the man's back and pecked at his skin. The man cried out and rolled off me holding his neck as if something had bitten him. I got off the bed and limped over to the nightstand ripping the drawer open looking for something, anything that I could use to defend myself. I gasped when I grabbed onto something sharp and felt my hand slice open and begin bleeding freely. I pulled my hand out and saw a knife lying under some papers and I grabbed it. I held it against my side as the man rubbed his neck and glared at me.

"I said play nice bitch this doesn't have to be painful for you unless you fight me." He ran around the bed and tried to grab me. I tried to jump out of his grasp but he grabbed my shoulder and slammed me into the wall hard knocking the breath out of my lungs and making me wheeze. He slammed his lips onto mine and I wanted to vomit. I brought up the knife and stabbed him in the hip making him pull away and punch me. My vision blurred and I heard the crow start cawing madly and hissing loud enough to make my ears ring.

"Don't fucking touch me!" I managed to hiss before he lunged at me again. I started slashing at him with the knife cutting his hands and his chest. He tried to grab it from my grasp but I kneed him in the balls and slashed again. I was choking and covered in something hot and sticky as his body pinned me against the wall. He made a wet gurgling noise and my eyes burned as blood sprayed into them. I gagged tasting blood in my mouth and his body slowly slid down my own covering me head to toe in his lifeblood. I was shaking as I pressed myself up against the wall clutching the knife tightly in my hands.

My legs were shaking and I rubbed the blood from my eyes before I felt them start to tear up. I had just killed a man. My hand was shaking as I stepped over his body and nearly fell flat on my face from the pain in my leg. I whimpered and braced myself against the bed as I started limping towards the bathroom. I needed to get this blood off me…I…I just needed to get it off. I made it a few steps away from the bed before I collapsed and curled up into a ball. I started shaking and I heard something hit the ground with a wet thud. I whimpered as I watched the crow drag itself over to me before nipping at my arm. I sat up and it crawled onto my lap before trying to drag itself up to my shoulder. With shaky hands I lifted it up and placed it on my left shoulder and it nuzzled against my neck making calming noises as if it were trying to soothe me.

"Crow…I…I just killed a man." I whimpered and it cawed softly and nipped at my chin. Its tar mixed with the blood on me and I scooted back up against the wall and shook. I felt cold and the world was spinning around me. I started crying again and my body felt sticky and dirty from all the blood making my clothes stick to my skin. The weight of crow on my shoulder was comforting and I closed my eyes and tried to breathe.

I don't know how long I sat on the floor just shaking and whimpering. I didn't know how to feel; I know that if I hadn't defended myself that he would have raped me. I kept trying to tell myself that it was self defense and that everything would be okay. The crow continued to nuzzle against me and making soothing noises and soon I was just staring blankly at my feet. I was numb. My limbs felt heavy and my hands slipped off my lap and onto the floor. I still loosely clutched the knife in my hands but I couldn't grip it even if I tried. All too soon I heard footsteps walking towards the room and the door opened again.

"Little red?" Joker's voice sounded strange and he quickly moved around the room until he found me. He kneeled down at my side and I felt his hands at the side of my neck. He sighed in relief when he realized that I was still alive. Taking my chin in his hand he turned me to face him and it took everything I had to just blink. His face swam into focus for a moment and I looked into his red eyes before the world began to blur again.

"I'd ask you what happened but judging by your torn clothes I can already guess what it was. I knew that leaving knives around my room was a good idea." He said softly as he pulled the knife from my hand and slipped it into his pocket. "Come on now let's get your cleaned up so I can see what all he did to you."

He picked me up and I hung limply in his arms like a broken doll. The crow clung tightly to my shoulder as he carried me into the bathroom and set me down in the tub. He pulled the bandages off my foot and started pulling my clothes off making the crow hiss in annoyance. He of course didn't even acknowledge the crow's existence as he finished stripping the ruined clothes from my body. He tilted my head up and looked into my eyes again.

"First kill huh? Don't worry you're just in shock but Papa J will take good care of you." He started running warm water into the tub before plugging it up and moving away to grab some things. The crow climbed up my naked flesh leaving small scratches where it gripped until it was perched on the side of the tub and away from the water. Joker stopped the flow of water just as it submerged me up to my breasts and I managed to look over at him. He'd stripped down to just his pants and his pale skin seemed to shine in the light.

He dragged a soft cloth over my skin gently washing the blood off me. He gently scrubbed my face clean and frowned when he saw the bruises on my neck that the doctor had left behind. He gently ran his fingers over the bruises before wringing out the cloth and gently scrubbing my face clean.

"If he weren't dead I'd kill him myself." He muttered and started washing the blood from my hair. The water was a deep red and he pulled the plug draining it before refilling the tub and washing me again. He didn't stop until the water stayed clear and I was scrubbed almost raw. I didn't know I was crying again until he put his hand on my cheek and his thumb softly brushed them away.

"Aww now don't you cry. Joker will make everything better and make damn sure that this never happens again." He lightly ghosted his hand over the bruises on my neck and body. The crow hissed softly and flapped its wings as if trying to scare him off. Joker tilted my face towards his and pressed his lips to mine harshly. He kissed me roughly and I could taste blood on my tongue. He pulled away and I could see his makeup smudged and running a bit. He licked his scars and kissed my forehead before rubbing my cheek gently again.

"Just relax in here for a bit doll. I'm going to go get rid of the body and clean up the room. Well we're probably going to have to sleep in the guest room until the blood dries but don't worry. I'll take good care of you." He stood up and stared down at my body through the water and I could see his arousal through his pants as he shifted and walked back out into the room. I heard a splash and slowly looked over seeing the crow struggling to swim next to me. I lifted my knee until it was almost above the water and helped the crow perch on it.

The crow leered at my naked form before opening its wings and shaking the water off its body like a dog. Small flecks of tar covered my chest and the sides of the tub by the time it was finished. It huffed and flapped its wings before settling down.

"Don't you like baths Crow?" My voice sounded far away and tired. The crow tilted its head to the side before shaking a very definite 'no' my way. I tried to smile but I still felt numb. "Aww come now Crow I thought you'd love to be in a bath with me." I tried teasing it and the crow made an odd noise in the back of its throat as it looked me up and down. It was almost as if it were a man trapped in a crow's body. I reached up and gently scratched it under its beak and it let out a pleasured hiss. "I almost wish you had your body and were curled up in the bath with me." I mumbled to myself and the crow nipped at my fingers before sighing. It seemed to sulk a bit and I wondered if he was wishing the same thing.


End file.
